WALES

National Eisteddfod of Wales

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether she attended the 2011 National Eisteddfod of Wales.

David Jones: In 2010, the Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), attended the National Eisteddfod while I attended the International Eisteddfod. In 2011, the Secretary of State attended the International Eisteddfod as day president and I attended the National Eisteddfod.

SCOTLAND

Common Agricultural Policy

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the effects on Scotland of potential reform of the common agricultural policy.

Michael Moore: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on CAP reform. The European Commission will publish its regulatory proposals on CAP reform shortly. I will continue to work closely with DEFRA, the Scottish Government and agricultural community to ensure that the UK negotiating position takes account of Scottish interests.

Housing Benefit

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent assessment he has made of the potential effects in Scotland of changes to housing benefit.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I are in regular contact with Ministers from the Department for Work and Pensions on a range of matters, including reform of housing benefit. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), is due to meet Scottish Ministers tomorrow to discuss welfare reform.

West Lothian Question

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Deputy Prime Minister on establishing a commission on the West Lothian Question.

Michael Moore: I have regular discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr Clegg), on a range of issues. The Government, last week, set out the steps we are taking to establish a Commission on the ‘West Lothian Question’.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Environment Protection

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take in relation to the sale of products that contain ingredients that may cause harm to the aquatic environment.

James Paice: A range of products may contain ingredients with a greater or lesser potential to cause harm to the aquatic environment. Regulatory regimes cover many of these products whereby a range of actions can be taken following an assessment of risk. In other cases, we can consider appropriate action where we have scientific evidence that a substance can cause an unacceptable risk.

Flood Control: Finance

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent of flood protection measures in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) the City of York Council area in each year since 2000-01.

Richard Benyon: The following table shows spend on flood and coastal erosion risk management between 2000-01 and 2010-11.
	The table excludes spending by local authorities except prior to 2004-05 where flood risk management was primarily funded through local authority grants with DEFRA part-funding only capital improvement projects and some national initiatives. After 2003-04 this form of funding was largely replaced by direct funding from DEFRA through grant in aid.
	
		
			  Total expenditure in England (£ million) 
			 2000-01 334.1 
			 2001-02 366.1 
			 2002-03 427.8 
			 2003-04 457.5 
			 2004-05 415.4 
			 2005-06 514.8 
			 2006-07 506.0 
			 2007-08 507.5 
			 2008-09 568.1 
			 2009-10 627.9 
			 2010-11 664.1 
		
	
	The following table shows the total expenditure of the Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee and expenditure specifically on the City of York.
	
		
			  Expenditure per financial year 
			 £000 
			  2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee(1) 28,578 30,715 41,548 37,330 33,421 40,684 34,015 35,174 41,791 57,704 48,645 34,260 
			 City of York—capital 0 0 56 130 0 120 110 24 56 53 132 (3)660 
			 City of York—revenue (2)582 (2)675 (2)768 780 750 830 650 663 676 641 342 (3)410 
			 (1) Total spend for Yorkshire and North bank of Humber (including York). (2) Estimates proportioned from Ouse revenue spend. (3 )Estimated to financial year end.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what her policy is on the extension of the scope of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority into other areas of activity;
	(2)  what her policy is on the enforcement powers of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

James Paice: The Government have no plans to extend the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to additional sectors. The GLA regulatory framework is subject to the Government's Red Tape Challenge, and its operations fall within the current review of compliance and enforcement regimes for employment law.
	The GLA enforces the Gangmasters Licensing Act 2004 on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman). The Act, and subordinate, legislation introduced under it, allows the GLA to take a measured and effective approach to enforcing the rights of vulnerable workers in the sectors that it covers.

Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry if held for each individual transaction undertaken by the Environment Agency using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Richard Benyon: Details of Government Procurement Card (GPC) transactions by the Environment Agency for 2008-09 and 2009-10 have been placed in the Library of the House. This includes date of transaction, amount, merchant details and category description. Level three data is not held for 2008-09.

Organic Farming

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the amount of land in (a) England and (b) North Yorkshire and York organically farmed in each year since 1997.

James Paice: The land area under organic farming in England and North Yorkshire is shown in the following table.
	Data prior to 2002 are not available as 2002 was the first year that DEFRA began producing organic agricultural statistics. It is not possible to provide detailed data for the York area as the current system does not support this level of analysis. However, this is being considered for future data analysis and DEFRA publications. Data for North Yorkshire are not available prior to 2006 and therefore data for the Yorkshire and Humber region have been provided for comparison.
	
		
			 Hectares 
			  Land in-conversion: Fully organic land: Total (organic + in-conversion): 
			  England Yorkshire and Humber North Yorkshire England Yorkshire and Humber North Yorkshire England Yorkshire and Humber North Yorkshire 
			 2002 67,791 2,257 n/a 184,045 6,968 n/a 251,836 9,225 n/a 
			 2003 36,786 1,676 n/a 220,197 8,079 n/a 256,984 9,754 n/a 
			 2004 28,832 1,279 n/a 229,626 8,560 n/a 258,458 9,838 n/a 
			 2005 53,223 2,341 n/a 238,355 8,978 n/a 291,578 11,319 n/a 
			 2006 66,525 3,387 1,816 229,861 9,032 5,811 296,386 12,419 7,627 
			 2007 89,037 4,112 2,321 258,744 9,625 5,965 347,781 13,737 8,286 
			 2008 91,074 3,841 3,341 283,993 10,899 6,965 375,067 14,740 10,306 
			 2009 67,588 2,668 2,454 311,176 11,902 8,113 378,764 14,570 10,567 
			 2010 29,769 850 671 361,992 13,768 10,167 391,761 14,618 10,839

Poultry: Animal Welfare

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what communications she has received from the European Commission on the extent of preparedness by member states to introduce enriched cages for egg-laying hens in respect of the provisions of the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive by January 2012.

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions her Department has had with the EU Commission on its position on EU member states that do not comply with the requirement to use enriched battery cages after 2012;
	(2)  what steps her Department plans to take to protect British egg producers from competition by producers in other EU member states who do not fully comply with the provisions of EU Directive 1999/74/EC.

James Paice: Earlier this year the EU Commission requested that all member states provide an update of progress on conversion from conventional cages as of 1 April and a forecast of the position on 31 December 2011. We have received the data provided to the Commission which indicates the level of conversion anticipated by the majority of member states. Of the 20 member states which provided data 13 have said they would be ready. Seven failed to supply any data.
	The Government are totally committed to the 2012 deadline to have phased out the use of conventional cages in the UK and acknowledge the sterling job the industry has done in preparing for the ban. We have been at the forefront of efforts to convince the Commission that simply relying on infraction proceedings against member states will not be enough to deal with the negative impact that the large-scale non-compliance would cause. We are keeping the pressure on the Commission to put in place additional enforcement measures to prevent market disturbance.
	We are currently developing an UK enforcement strategy which I will be discussing with industry and retailers later this month.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry if held for each individual transaction undertaken by English Heritage using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

John Penrose: This Department does not hold Government Procurement Card information for its arm's length bodies. English Heritage has advised us that they do not hold this information in the format requested centrally, and to collate it would be above the disproportionate cost limit.

Olympic Games 2012

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of the revenue generated by the London 2012 Olympic Games will (a) remain in London and (b) be distributed to other parts of the UK.

Hugh Robertson: There are currently no plans to distribute any surplus revenues from the Games on a geographical basis. If the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) generates a surplus at the end of the Games, following the payments of contractual commitments of up to $8 million and $4 million due to the British Olympic Association (BOA) and British Paralympic Association (BPA) respectively, any remaining surplus will be used to repay any funding drawn down by LOCOG from the public sector funding package to fund cost pressures (rather than that made available to fund government obligations such as security or additional scope such as park operations) before it calculates a final surplus for distribution.
	Should a surplus remain following these payments then LOCOG will need to consider how any surplus is distributed according to the terms set out in the host city contract. The Host City Contract stipulates that:
	Any surplus resulting from the celebration of the Games shall be divided as follows:
	(a) 20% to the National Olympic Committee (NOC);
	(b) 60% to be used for the general benefit of sport in the Host Country as may be determined by the OCOG in consultation with the NOC; and
	(c) 20% to the International Olympic Committee.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representations he has received from the business and finance sectors on the contribution of further large-scale investments in energy infrastructure to meet the carbon reduction targets contained in the fourth carbon budget.

Gregory Barker: The Climate Change Act 2008 does not legally require the Government to formally consult businesses and finance sectors on how to meet carbon reduction targets. We have undertaken extensive consultation with stakeholders to develop our proposals for the Electricity Market Reform, which will enable the investment in low carbon electricity infrastructure needed to deliver our carbon reduction targets. Our proposals are set out in 'Planning our Electric Future: a White Paper for Secure, Affordable and Low-Carbon Electricity':
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/legislation/white_papers/emr_wp_2011/emr_wp_2011.aspx
	published in July 2011.

Electricity Generation

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consultation he plans to hold on the organisations that will administer (a) feed-in tariff contracts for difference and (b) capacity mechanisms contracts; and whether such proposals will be published before 31 December 2011.

Gregory Barker: The White Paper published on 12 July 2011 sets out the framework that will be used to determine the appropriate institutional framework. A decision on which organisation(s) will be responsible for delivering the Feed-in Tariff Contracts for Difference and the Capacity Mechanism will be published around the turn of the year, once the Capacity Mechanism design has been decided. We have actively engaged with stakeholders on the implementation of the Electricity Market Reform since the publication of the consultation on 16 December 2010. We are continuing this stakeholder engagement in order to develop the appropriate institutional model.

Energy

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what information he holds on domestic energy consumption in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009 and (e) 2010;
	(2)  what information he holds on business energy consumption in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009 and (e) 2010;
	(3)  what information he holds on the proportion of energy consumption in (a) domestic and (b) business premises in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007, (iii) 2008, (iv) 2009 and (v) 2010.

Gregory Barker: The Department publishes a range of information on domestic and business related energy consumption in its "Energy Trends", "Digest of UK Energy Statistics" and "Energy Consumption in the UK" National Statistics publications. All these publications are available electronically on the Departments website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/publications.aspx
	Hard copies of the first two publication are available in the House Library. The publications contain the following sectoral information about energy consumption. Business energy use is shown separately for industry and public administration, commercial and agricultural uses.
	
		
			 Final ener  gy consumption by end user 2006-  10 
			 Thousand tonnes of oil equivalent 
			  Domestic Industry Public administration, commercial and agricultural use Transport All final users  (1) 
			 2006 46,574 31,423 19,514 59,532 157,043 
			 2007 44,931 30,603 19,004 59,764 154,302 
			 2008 45,485 30,852 19,228 58,474 154,038 
			 2009 43,043 26,550 17,701 56,148 143,442 
			 2010 48,471 27,539 18,357 55,704 150,071 
			 (1) Excluding non-energy use of fuels. 
		
	
	
		
			 Proportion of energy consumption by end user 2006  -  10 
			 Percentage 
			  Domestic Industry Public administration, commercial and agricultural use Transport All final users  (1) 
			 2006 29.7 20.0 12.4 37.9 100.0 
			 2007 29.1 19.8 12.3 38.7 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 29.5 20.0 12.5 38.0 100.0 
			 2009 30.0 18.5 12.3 39.1 100.0 
			 2010 32.3 18.4 12.2 37.1 100.0 
			 (1) Excluding non-energy use of fuels. 
		
	
	The "Energy Consumption in the UK" suite of tables and factsheets contains additional information back to 1970, identifying many of the factors behind the changes in energy use.

Energy Supply: Government Departments

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cumulative savings to the public purse of reducing the energy consumption of Government Departments by 25 per cent. up to 2015.

Gregory Barker: These are difficult to estimate given fluctuations in energy prices, and because there is not a straightforward relationship between reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy bill savings.
	Over the 12 months to 13 May 2011, government reduced carbon emissions from its office estate by over 100,000 tonnes on the previous year, reducing energy bills by £13 million in the reporting period, with further energy bill savings expected in subsequent years from the measures taken.
	Analysis has shown that the 25% target can be met in a cost effective manner whereby the energy bill savings are higher than the investment needed to meet the target.

Energy: Business

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department plans to publish measures to reduce the effects of Government policy on electricity costs for energy-intensive manufacturers whose international competitiveness is most affected by UK energy and climate change policy.

Gregory Barker: As announced as part of the Fourth Carbon Budget statement, before the end of the year we will announce a package of measures for energy intensive businesses whose international competitiveness is most affected by our energy and climate change policies in order to reduce the impact of government policy on the cost of electricity for these businesses.

Energy: Public Sector

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2011, Official Report, column 1268W, on public sector: energy, whether public sector energy efficiency retrofit programmes will be eligible to receive support from the Capacity Mechanism.

Gregory Barker: The Government are consulting on the type of Capacity Mechanism to be introduced in the GB electricity market to ensure security of supply. That consultation includes seeking views on how to ensure that non-generation technologies and approaches to providing capacity can participate in a Capacity Mechanism on a fair and equal basis with electricity generation.
	In addition, the Government have a range of policies in place to incentivise improved energy efficiency and will undertake an assessment over the coming year to determine whether DECC should take further steps to improve the support and incentives for the efficient use of electricity.

European Union Emission Trading Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely level of revenue from UK companies covered by the European Union Emission Trading Scheme up to 2010.

Justine Greening: holding answer 12 September 2011
	I have been asked to reply.
	All Government revenue from the EU Emissions Trading System is from the auctioning of emissions allowances. From the start of UK auctions in November 2008 to the end of 2010 the Government have raised around £770 million.

Feed-in Tariffs: Renewable Energy

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people resident in (a) total, (b) Reading and (c) Reading West constituency who have participated in the (i) feed-in tariff and (ii) renewable heat incentive since his appointment.

Gregory Barker: Quarterly statistics for the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme show that, at the end of June 2011, a total of 44,934 small-scale, low carbon electricity generating installations were registered for FITs. Of these 43,703 were domestic installations. In Reading, there were 85 FITs installations of which 83 were domestic installations; and in Reading West there were 44 FITs installations of which 43 were domestic installations.
	There have been no participants in the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme as it is not yet open for applications. Subject to state aid approval, the Government intends that the RHI will open for applications from the non-domestic sector on 30 September 2011.

Nuclear Power Stations: Feed-in Tariffs

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on extending the feed-in tariff to combined heat and power plants.

Gregory Barker: The Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme currently supports the first 30,000 domestic scale microCHP installations with an electrical generation capacity of up to 2 kW. The Ofgem live database shows 223 microCHP installations currently accredited for FITs.
	The comprehensive review of the scheme is now under way and provides an opportunity to consider all aspects of the scheme including tariffs, technology and eligibility of the scheme. We intend to consult later this year on the comprehensive review and for any changes to be implemented in April 2012 unless the review indicates the need for greater urgency.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding his Department has allocated for research and development into tidal action renewable energy systems in the comprehensive spending review period.

Charles Hendry: The Department has allocated in this comprehensive spending review (CSR) period, up to £20 million (subject to value for money consideration) to help support the demonstration of arrays of wave and tidal devices, building on the Department's previous £22 million Marine Renewable Proving Fund and other Government support.
	Earlier stage research is funded by other Government Departments.

Sellafield: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department invested in the MOX reprocessing plant at Sellafield in each financial year since 2000-01.

Charles Hendry: Since 1 April 2005 the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) has been owned and managed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Prior to that it was part of British Nuclear Fuels Limited. Investment in the plant is a commercial matter for the owners of the plant. There has been no direct investment in SMP by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The NDA has advised me that the total lifetime cost of SMP up to the end of 2010-11, including the costs of construction , was £1.53 billion.

Solar Power: Birds

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effect of bird fouling on the (a) efficiency and (b) longevity of domestic solar panels.

Gregory Barker: The Department has not done an assessment of this particular problem. The Energy Savings Trust gives advice about care and maintenance of solar panels at:
	http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Solar-electricity#Costs.savingsandmaintenance
	Manufacturers and installers will also provide advice on this and other potential factors that can reduce performance such as leaves, dust and shading.

Water Power: Research

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department plans to take to increase the level of private sector research and development in marine energy technologies during the comprehensive spending review period.

Gregory Barker: The Department is working with the private sector through the UK Marine Energy Programme Board's finance working group to examine what support is necessary to ensure the development and deployment of marine energy technologies.
	The spending review allocated over £200 million in this comprehensive spending review to support low carbon technologies. In June, the Department announced up to £20 million, subject to value for money assessments, to support the pre-commercial demonstration of marine array devices. This scheme will leverage private sector funding as part of the project costs.
	This funding will be part of a wider package of support for marine innovation which the Department is working on with other members of the Low Carbon Innovation Group (other members include: Business Innovation Skills, the Energy Technologies Institute, the Technology Strategy Board, the Carbon Trust and Research Councils UK). The aim is to ensure that there is strategic alignment of public funding for the sector to maximise the benefits each funding streams generates.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Independent Parliamentary Standards: Internet

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many times the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority web site (a) has been offline and (b) has shut down when hon. Members were online in the last six months.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated 20 July 2011
	As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many times the Independent Parliamentary Standard's Authority web site (a) has been offline and (b) has shut down when hon. Members are online in the last six months.
	The online expenses system used by MPs and their staff is separate from the public IPSA website.
	In the last six months, the online expenses system has only been offline for planned maintenance. This took place between 6pm on Friday 25 March and 8am on Monday 28 March, and between 8am and 10am on Tuesday 7 June. On both occasions IPSA gave MPs advance notice of the planned downtime.
	IPSA's website:
	www.parliamentarystandards.org.uk
	has been offline at the following times over the past six months: between 9.30am and 10.40am on Monday 18 April, and between 4.45pm and 6.00pm on Thursday 26 May.

Independent Parliamentary Standards: Manpower

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, 
	(1)  how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time staff were employed by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in each month in the last year;
	(2)  how many agency staff have been employed by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in each month in the last year.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Scott Woolveridge,  dated  6 September 2011 
	As Acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time staff were employed by IPSA in each month in the last year. In my answer, I have also included statistics on how many agency staff were employed during this period.
	The table shows the breakdown of the number of staff employed by IPSA in the past 12 months, broken down by date and by type of employee. The figures for full-time staff include those on fixed-term appointments and those seconded from Government departments.
	The figures for the Compliance Office are not included (3.5 employees throughout this period).
	
		
			 FTE 
			  Agency staff Full-time staff Part time staff Total staff 
			 1 September 2010 39 41 0.5 80.5 
			 1 October 2010 29 54 0.5 83.5 
			 1 November 2010 16 57 0.5 73.5 
			 1 December 2010 12 58 0.5 70.5 
			 1 January 2011 11 57 0.5 68.5 
			 1 February 2011 9 58 0.5 67.5 
			 1 March 2011 9 59 0.5 68.5 
			 1 April 2011 2 60.5 0.5 63 
			 1 May 2011 2 60.5 0.5 63 
			 1 June 2011 2 60.5 0.5 63 
			 1 July 2011 1 60.5 0.5 62 
			 1 August 2011 2 57.5 0.5 60

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo developed as part of the UK national action plan on women, peace and security; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been identified as one of three bilateral action country plans within the UK Government's National Action Plan (NAP) on UNSCR 1325 Women, Peace and Security. We have achieved a number of successes against the objectives of the NAP, which include:
	A Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded film 'The Greatest Silence', distributed widely to raise, awareness of sexual violence; FCO developed and funded televised campaign 'Vrai Djo', which seeks to challenge male attitudes towards women; Department for International Development (DFID) technical support and funding to the Ministry of Gender to support the development and implementation of national-level gender policies; DFID support to an influential women's network (CAFCO) to ensure that fifty percent of voters registered were women; continued lobbing of the Government of DRC to implement legislation outlawing sexual violence and a zero tolerance policy on human rights abusers; and funding for a number of projects to raise awareness of sexual violence legislation, including workshops across the country.
	However the levels of violence faced by women in DRC remain unacceptably high and our work to implement the resolution remains an important part of HMG's remit in DRC. The NAP is a working document; it will be reviewed again in October. A report will be produced and presented to Parliament by ministerial statement.

Departmental Apprentices

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many apprenticeships have been created directly by contracts with his Department in each of the last three years.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office supports the use of procurement for this purpose, but, as the majority of our expenditure is overseas, we have limited potential to develop skills and apprenticeships in the UK through contractors and their suppliers.

Departmental Written Questions

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of written questions tabled to him for answer on a named day did not receive a substantive answer on the day named for answer between (a) 27 May 2010 and 19 July 2011 and (b) 9 March 2011 and 19 July 2011.

David Lidington: The information requested is as follows: (a) 80 out of 614 questions tabled (13%); (b)42 out of 236 questions tabled (18%).
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

European Union: European Convention on Human Rights

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department (a) has had and (b) plans to have with (i) the President of the European Council, (ii) the President of the European Commission, (iii) the governments of other EU member states and (iv) other interested parties on the accession of the EU to the European Convention on human rights; and if he will make a statement.

Kenneth Clarke: I have been asked to reply.
	I have discussed the accession of the EU to the European convention on human rights on several occasions with my counterparts on the Justice and Home Affairs Council. A drafting group comprised of Council of Europe experts and officials from the European Commission has now prepared a draft accession agreement, and the 47 states of the Council of Europe are now considering this draft in preparation for further negotiations. In the context of these negotiations, I expect that my colleagues and I will discuss the issues arising with key figures elsewhere in Europe, and that my officials will also continue to discuss the technical aspects of the draft agreement with European counterparts at working level.

Tolls

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct ambassadors and high commissioners not to pay road tolls in countries whose diplomatic representatives in the UK refuse to pay the London congestion charge.

Henry Bellingham: The majority of diplomatic missions in London pay the congestion charge. It is the British Government's view that those that do not are in contravention of their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR). Even so, we would never encourage our missions abroad to contravene the VCDR.

Tripoli Zoo

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has provided assistance to Tripoli Zoo.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK is not currently providing assistance to Tripoli Zoo because The International Fund for Animal Welfare has now provided funding to buy much-needed food and other supplies. The Zoo includes tigers, lions, hyenas, hippos, deer and monkeys. I am currently making further inquiries about their welfare.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Connexions Service: Innovation Fund

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to allow Connexions services to bid for funding from his Department's Innovation Fund for the purpose of assisting young people into education, employment or training.

Chris Grayling: Any organisation in the public, private or voluntary sector is eligible to bid for the Innovation Fund, as an investor/intermediary or as a delivery organisation within a social investment partnership. The second phase of the Innovation Fund will be launched in the autumn and details will be available on the Innovation Fund website:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/supplying-dwp/what-we-buy/welfare-to-work-services/innovation-fund/
	The Innovation Fund team can be contacted at:
	innovation.fund@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry if held for each individual transaction undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Chris Grayling: The information relating to the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) use of the Government Procurement Card (GPC) in 2008-09 and 2009-10 will be placed in the Library of the House. It excludes details of level 3 or enhanced transaction entries as HSE does not hold such information.
	The HSE carries out regular sample checks on its GPC-related transactions supplemented by periodic reviews by its internal auditors. Together, they provide assurance that relevant HSE-based procedures are followed and that transactions are consistent with the guidance on the use of public funds set out in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money.
	One of the key functions of the Health and Safety Laboratory is testing products, for example in connection with incident investigations. As part of this they frequently have to purchase individual items from suppliers.
	In line with the Government's requirement for greater fiscal constraint and discipline across the public sector necessary to address the current deficit, the Department and its non-departmental public bodies continue to drive savings wherever possible in order to deliver value for money for the taxpayer.

Hewlett-Packard

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has given approval to the application by Hewlett Packard to offshore jobs under the Adams 2 contract it holds with his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The Department asked Hewlett Packard to find a way to do the ADAMS2 application support work in the UK and can confirm that this work will not be offshored.

Industrial Health and Safety: Construction

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many small companies outside the construction sector have been prosecuted for breaches of health and safety regulations where no customers have been hurt in each of the last five years.

Chris Grayling: From 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2011, the Health and Safety Executive completed 453 prosecutions of duty-holders employing fewer than 10 employees (including those with no employees) outside the construction sector. Details for each work year are provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Work year (1 April to 31 March) Number of duty-holders employing fewer than 10 employees (including those with no employees) outside the construction sector prosecuted 
			 2006-07 123 
			 2007-08 82 
			 2008-09 84 
			 2009-10 86 
			 2010-11 78 
			 Note: The 2010-11 figure is based on current information in advance of the release of official statistics for this year in October 2011. 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide information on the number of the above prosecutions where no customers have been hurt as HSE does not hold this information in the format requested.

Industrial Health and Safety: Inspections

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of health and safety inspectors by local authorities.

Chris Grayling: Section 18 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act) puts a duty on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities (LAs) to make adequate arrangements for enforcement. Whilst recognising that the duties placed upon an LA by Section 18 are wholly the responsibility of each independent LA, HSE developed and agreed with LAs a Section 18 Standard on what constitutes ‘adequate enforcement arrangements’.
	The effectiveness of LA inspector activity and their overall competency are elements covered within the Standard. LAs currently follow a process of self-assessment, action planning and peer review to allow them to determine whether they meet the standard and whether any improvements by means of an action plan are required.

Pensions: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency were in receipt of (i) the basic state pension and (ii) pension credit in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average monetary value was of the pension credit received in each case.

Steve Webb: The information available is in the following table:
	
		
			 State pension and pension credit recipients in the Warrington local authority area and Warrington North parliamentary constituency 
			  State pension claimants Pension credit household recipients Average weekly amount of pension credit 
			 Warrington local authority 37,120 7,860 52.34 
		
	
	
		
			 Warrington North parliamentary constituency 17,250 4,220 53.24 
			 Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. The state pension figure provided is the total state pension caseload. Around 1% of state pension recipients are not in receipt of the basic state pension, but are receiving additional pension only or graduated retirement benefit only. 3. Pension credit household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves or on behalf of themselves and a partner. 4. Information is published on our tabulation tool at:http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Schools: Innovation Fund

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether schools will be entitled to bid for monies from the Innovation Fund to help them meet careers and guidance responsibilities set out in the provisions of the Education Bill.

Chris Grayling: Any organisation in the public, private or voluntary sector is eligible to bid for the Innovation Fund, as an investor/intermediary or as a delivery organisation within a social investment partnership. However, the Innovation Fund provision must not duplicate existing programmes or funding arrangements—the provision needs to be genuinely innovative and deliver support to individuals which would not otherwise be available to them.

Social Security Benefits: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency have moved off benefits and into work in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many in each case were (i) aged over 55, (ii) single parents and (iii) aged between 16 and 25.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Security

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many passes to enter the Palace of Westminster were valid in each category as of 1 July 2011; how many of these were issued to hon. Members' staff acting (a) as secretaries, (b) as research assistants and (c) in other capacities; and what estimate the Commission has made of the number of research assistants in possession of a valid pass at the latest date for which figures are available.

John Thurso: The following table shows the number of passes and categories on issue on 1 July 2011.
	
		
			 Type of pass Number 
			 Contractor Works 977 
			 Contractor Works Escort 251 
			 Day 12 
			 Ex-Member 359 
			 Full Pass Holder Both Houses 47 
			 Full Pass Holder House of Commons 1658 
			 Full Pass Holder House of Commons Members Library 4 
			 Full Pass Holder House of Commons Officer 312 
			 Full Pass Holder House of Commons Whips 55 
			 Full Pass Holder House of Lords 902 
			 Full Pass Holder House of Lords Officer 100 
			 Full Pass Holder House of Lords Whips 28 
			 Full Pass Holder Staff of both Houses 1452 
			 Full Pass Holder Staff of both Houses Officer 104 
			 Government Department Staff 900 
			 Government Department Staff Escort 177 
			 Gymnasium 82 
			 Hereditary Peer 83 
			 Media 81 
			 Media Escort 30 
			 Media Gallery 79 
			 Media Lobby 236 
			 Member 649 
			 Member Staff 1531 
			 Member Staff (Member Library) 15 
			 MEP (House of Lords only) 16 
			 Peer Staff 588 
			 Peers 813 
			 Residents Guest 19 
			 Restricted Pass Holder 348 
			 Restricted Pass Holder Driver 22 
			 Restricted Pass Holder Escort 41 
			 Restricted Pass Holder Tour Guide 208 
			 Retired Officer 18 
			 Staff of Both Houses 457 
			 Staff of Both Houses Escort 125 
			 Staff of House of Commons 156 
			 Staff of House of Commons Escort 4 
			 Staff of House of Lords 85 
			 Staff of House of Lords Escort 1 
		
	
	The number of passes on issue to Members’ staff on 1 July 2011 in the table above breaks down as follows:
	
		
			 Job role Amount on issue 
			 Secretary 304 
			 Research Assistant 1080 
			 Member Staff (Member Library) 15 
			 Intern 134 
		
	
	
		
			 Party Official 7 
			 Media Adviser 1 
			 Office Manager 1 
			 Press Officer 2 
			 Political Officer 1 
			 Chauffeur 1 
			 Total 1,546 
		
	
	As at 9 September 2011, there are 1,097 passes on issue to research assistants.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Khat

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the review of the evidence relating to the use of khat to complete.

James Brokenshire: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was requested by the Home Department to review the available evidence on khat, updating its assessment of 2005, and provide advice in relation to control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and a wider response.
	The ACMD will commence its consideration of khat in autumn 2011, and it is anticipated that the review will be completed by December 2012.

Animal Experiments

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of project licence applications for experiments on animals which were recommended by the Animal Scientific Procedures Inspectorate were refused permission by her Department in the last three years for which figures are available.

Lynne Featherstone: Home Office records show that no project licence applications recommended for approval by the Animals Scientific Procedure Inspectorate were subsequently refused in the period 2008 to 2010.

Animal Experiments: EU Law

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the likely effects of transposing EU directive 2010/63/EU into UK law on the annual number of laboratory inspections carried out in the UK.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 9 September 2011
	The public consultation on the transposition of European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes invited views on the system of inspection which would best meet UK needs. The consultation closed on 5 September 2011 and consideration of the responses is under way. Decisions on the options for transposition will take careful account of the responses received, including in relation to the future nature and frequency of inspections of establishments designated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Animal Welfare

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received on the use of concussion/percussive blow to the head to kill neonate dogs, cats, ferrets and foxes as part of her Department's consultation on the transposition of European Directive 2010/63/EU.

Lynne Featherstone: The public consultation on the transposition of European Directive 2010/63/EU closed on 5 September 2011 and consideration of the responses is under way. Early indications are that a number of responses include comments on the provisions for humane killing set out in Annex IV to the directive, including by the use of concussion/percussive blow to the head. These will be carefully considered before decisions are taken on how to proceed with regard to this issue.

CCTV

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect on evidence gathering and deterring crime of the use of body-worn CCTV cameras by police officers in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England.

James Brokenshire: Guidance for the police use of body worn video devices issued in 2007 was informed by a pilot of this technology by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. No further assessment has been undertaken by the Home Office. Police forces are expected to work with this guidance and assess the effectiveness of body worn video at a local level.

Civil Disorder: Greater London

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people involved in criminal acts during the public disorder in London in the period between 6 and 10 August 2011; and how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted in connection with those acts.

Crispin Blunt: I have been asked to reply.
	The Ministry of Justice is currently publishing frequent updates on people being dealt with by the court system in relation to the disturbances on 6-9 August. These reports can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/ad-hoc/index.htm
	As the publication notes the chief statistician will review the quality of data and release further breakdowns as reliable data become available. A more detailed release will be published on 15 September containing detailed information on age, gender, offence committed, sentence given, and previous criminal history.

DNA: Databases

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2010, Official Report, columns 501-502W, on crime: databases, how many unsolved crimes on file in relation to each type of offence have a DNA profile attached to them.

James Brokenshire: No further information is held centrally that adds to the information already provided in the previous answer of 29 November 2010, Official Report, columns 501-02W.

EU Nationals: Convictions

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many notifications the United Kingdom Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records gave to each EU member state regarding the conviction of one of its nationals in the UK in each year since 2007.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 9 September 2011
	The figures provided by the UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records for notifications separated by country of receipt for 2009, 2010 and up to 2 August 2011 are shown in the table. Statistical information for 2007 and 2008 was not split by nationality. Total figures have been provided 2007 and 2008.
	
		
			 Notifications out—notifications of EU nationals convicted in the UK  (1) 
			 Country 2007  (2) 2008 2009 2010 2011  (3) 
			 Austria — — 42 60 21 
			 Belgium — — 137 130 63 
			 Bulgaria — — 609 332 200 
			 Cyprus — — 221 185 99 
			 Czech Republic — — 894 846 527 
			 Denmark — — 77 66 40 
			 Estonia — — 202 206 127 
			 Finland — — 24 59 18 
			 France — — 714 1,089 499 
			 Germany — — 727 663 228 
			 Greece — — 135 110 55 
			 Hungary — — 439 369 253 
			 Ireland — — 4,874 4,212 1,388 
			 Italy — — 771 757 389 
			 Latvia — — 1,910 2,203 1,609 
			 Lithuania — — 4,728 4,744 3,451 
			 Luxembourg — — 4 4 0 
			 Malta — — 41 80 26 
			 Netherlands — — 402 537 258 
			 Poland — — 9,926 8,137 5,049 
			 Portugal — — 2,209 1,933 995 
			 Romania — — 3,795 4,497 3,281 
			 Slovakia — — 472 435 313 
			 Slovenia — — 24 26 13 
			 Spain — — 355 294 187 
			 Sweden — — 103 106 76 
			 Total 10,736 30,545 33,835 32,080 19,144 
			 (1) The figures previously provided for 2009 and 2010 in response to parliamentary question 67358 on 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 246W, were for England and Wales only. (2) In 2007 the process by which criminal convictions were extracted from the police national computer was changed, so that all convictions of EU nationals were sent to the member state of nationality. Previously only the first conviction had been sent. (3) As of 2 August 2011. Note: The figures for 2008-11 reflect the number of convictions and not the number of offenders.

Forensic Science Service

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many service providers have been contracted by police forces to provide forensic services.

Theresa May: holding answer 8 September 2011
	12 service providers have been contracted to provide forensic services to police forces under the National Forensic Framework Agreement. Some of these providers also worked with forces before the framework was put in place. The great majority of force spending on forensics is with these suppliers. However, forces may in addition enter into contracts with forensic specialists on which information is not collected centrally.

Immigrants: Human Rights

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the impact of human rights legislation on her ability to remove from the UK non-UK citizens whose presence is not conducive to the public good; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Government have established a Commission to investigate the creation of a UK Bill of Rights. The Commission will look at the way rights are protected in the UK and we expect it to explore a wide range of different views as it carries out its work.
	In terms of removals, I am also consulting on article 8 of the European convention on human rights, on how we can draw a fair balance between the interests of the individual and of the community as a whole.

Metals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to further regulate scrap metal yards.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 9 September 2011
	The Home Office recognises the significance of metal theft to the United Kingdom and that some scrap metal yards are a disposal route for stolen metal. The Home Office is in discussion with other Government Departments to identify whether any legislative changes should be made to tackle the theft of metal.

Prescriptions

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to bring forward further statutory instruments in respect of the law governing the prescribing powers of non-medical prescribers.

James Brokenshire: The Department is currently preparing a statutory instrument to implement legislative changes to enable non-medical prescribers to prescribe all controlled drugs within their competence in line with the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The statutory instrument has been expanded to incorporate other amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (as amended) to facilitate the mixing of medicines which include controlled drugs in palliative care and in other areas of clinical practice.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Manpower

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many people have been (a) recruited and (b) made redundant from (i) his Department and (ii) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible since May 2010;
	(2)  how much (a) his Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010.

Bob Neill: As part of the spending review settlement, the DCLG Group is making a collective 33% real terms saving against, its running costs by 2014-15. This equates to savings of over £200 million by 2014-15. In addition, the Department will save a further £190 million from the closure of the Government offices for the regions, taking overall savings on administrative running costs to 42% across the DCLG Group by 2014-15.
	These savings reflect the coalition Government's agenda of decentralisation, ending the micromanagement of local government, the abolition of regional government, and the broader need to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government and its non-departmental bodies has published exit numbers and expenditure in their respective resource accounts for 2010-11.
	Exit costs are higher (by historic standards) in 2010-11 due to the closure of the Government office for the regions and measures taken to reduce running costs across the departmental family. The exit costs at the Audit Commission reflect the abolition of comprehensive area assessment, ahead of plans to disband the Commission completely.
	The following table details the number and cost of exits across the Department and its arm’s length bodies for the period 1 May 2010 to 30 June 2011. This shows all exits where there was a public cost, including voluntary exit and approved early retirement schemes as well as redundancies.
	The table also shows the numbers of staff recruited over the same period. Recruitment is defined here as new civil servants on either a permanent or fixed-term contract joining between 1 May 2010 and 30 June 2011. Figures exclude fast stream staff as they are recruited centrally by Cabinet Office. Many of these were to fill business critical vacancies, vacancies requiring technical skills, or recruitment commitments made prior to new controls announced in May 2010.
	
		
			  Number of early exits Cost of early exits (£ million)  
			 1 May 2010 to 30 June 2010 Compulsory redundancies Voluntary exits + voluntary redundancies + early retirement Total Compulsory redundancies Voluntary exits + voluntary redundancies + early retirement Total Recruitment 
			 Central DCLG — 234 234 — 6.82 6.82 23 
			 Government offices for the regions — 603 603 — 30.48 30.48 — 
			 Planning Inspectorate — 76 76 — 2.90 2.90 — 
			 Architects Registration Board — — 0 — — 0.00 — 
			 Audit Commission 550 * 550 24.02 * 24.02 11 
			 Building Regulation Advisory Committee — — 0 — — 0.00 — 
			 Community Development Foundation 40 — 40 0.34 — 0.34 — 
			 Fire Service College — — 0 — — 0.00 6 
			 Firebuy 6 — 6 0.05 — 0.05 — 
			 Homes and Communities Agency 14 140 154 1.11 6.75 7.86 35 
			 Independent Housing Ombudsman Ltd — — 0 — — 0.00 3 
			 Infrastructure Planning Commission — — 0 — — 0.00 14 
			 Leasehold Advisory Service * — 0 * — 0.00 — 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Company * — 0 * — 0.00 1 
			 Ordnance Survey — 40 40 — 3.10 3.10 8 
		
	
	
		
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre — — 0 — — 0.00 * 
			 Residential Property Tribunal Service — — 0 — — 0.00 — 
			 Standards Board for England — 37 37 — 0.60 0.60 * 
			 Tenant Services Authority 6 29 35 0.12 1.29 1.41 6 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation 6 * 6 0.01 * 0.01 — 
			 Valuation Tribunal for England — — 0 — — 0.00 — 
			 Valuation Tribunal Service 21 — 21 0.55 — 0.55 19 
			 West Northamptonshire Development Corporation 7 — 7 0.04 — 0.04 * 
			 * Entries with less than 5 removed for data protection 3 5 8 0.05 0.11 0.16 7 
			 Grand total 653 1,164 1,817 26.27 52.06 78.33 133 
		
	
	Firebuy and the Community Development Foundation ceased to exist after 31 March 2011 and figures are included to that date.

Departmental Redundancy

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on redundancy costs since May 2010.

Bob Neill: holding answer 19 July 2011
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood) today, PQs 66318 and 66343.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much money his Department spent on international travel in each year since 2008-09.

Bob Neill: Details of the expenditure on international travel that are available for the last two financial years are presented in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2009-2010 2010-11 
			 International Air Travel n/a 10,309 
			 Eurostar n/a 20,311 
			 International Hotel accommodation 39,330 24.723 
			 n/a = not available 
		
	
	Figures for 2008-09 and on expenditure on international air travel and Eurostar for 2009-10 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As part of the steps taken to minimise departmental spend on travel, guidance has been issued to staff about travelling economy not business class and to be flexible in achieving value for money when travelling by air. New arrangements have been introduced which mean that all flights outside of Europe and any flight above the £300 need to be approved by the central finance team to ensure value for money.
	These controls on travel have been further supplemented with guidance to employees that first class rail travel is not an automatic right based on grade or distance of journey, approval must be given and central finance challenges each journey to ensure it was the most cost-effective option. This has seen the instances of first class travel drop from 116 tickets in the month of April 2010 to between five and 10 monthly now.
	The Department, as of 1 August 2011, has also reduced its London hotel guideline rate from £125 to £110 per night.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many overseas visits were made by (a) Ministers, (b) staff and (c) special advisers in his Department between June 2007 and May 2010; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

Bob Neill: The Cabinet Office publishes an annual list of overseas travel over £500 undertaken by Ministers:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministers-overseas-travel
	Travel by Ministers is undertaken in accordance with the ‘Ministerial Code’.
	Full details of the number and costs of overseas visits, together with breakdowns by Ministers, staff and special advisers, from June 2007 until May 2010 are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him today, PQ 67791, which gives details of the cost of international hotel accommodation in 2009-10 as £39,330.

Housing: Standards

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many private homes have been entered by local authority inspectors to check compliance with (a) building regulations, (b) housing standards and (c) health and safety regulations in each of the last five years.

Andrew Stunell: The information requested is not held centrally.

Local Government: Bellwin Scheme

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities have indicated that they intend to apply for financial assistance under the Bellwin Scheme in respect of costs incurred during the disturbances in August 2011; and how much he estimates will be paid out to local authorities under the scheme.

Bob Neill: To date 10 local authorities have indicated that they intend to apply for financial assistance under the Bellwin Scheme in respect of costs incurred during the disturbances. It is too early to estimate how much will be paid out under this scheme but we have asked local authorities to provide estimates which we hope to have by mid September.

Planning Permission: Solar Power

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what planning guidance he has issued to local authorities on the installation of ground level solar panels; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: We published a consultation draft of the new National Planning Policy Framework in July which sets out the policies for renewable energy including ground level solar panels. ‘Planning for Renewable Energy: A Companion Guide to Planning Policy Statement 22’ on renewable energy provides some guidance on the planning issues which should be considered when determining an application for planning permission for stand alone solar panels. We are currently considering the need for planning guidance.

Public Disorder

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 August 2011, on public disorder: support for businesses, how many applications his Department has received for assistance from the High Street Support Scheme; how many businesses have received payments to date from the scheme; what the average value of payments made to date has been; how many applications for assistance have been rejected; and whether the Government intends to increase its funding for the scheme.

Bob Neill: To date 35 local authorities have registered an intention to claim assistance under the High Street Support Scheme. As part of the claim process we have asked local authorities for information on the number of businesses that will receive payments from the scheme, the value of such payments and how many applications have been rejected. Actual figures will not be known for some time but we have also asked the local authorities to provide estimated figures which we hope to have by mid September. This information will help us to assess the level of funding being sought for the scheme.

TREASURY

Gift Aid

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider his plans in respect of the Gift Aid treatment of payments which include tuition provision; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: The Gift Aid rules require payments to be gifts to charities in order to be eligible. Payments made to obtain personal use of charity services are not gifts so do not attract Gift Aid. There are no plans to change the scope of the Gift Aid rules.

Child Benefit: Statistics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 343W, on child benefits: Peterborough, for what reasons data on child benefit payments to EU nationals is not collected at (a) regional and (b) constituency level; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Child benefit is a single national scheme which is administered centrally by the Child Benefit Office in HM Revenue and Customs. Consequently, data in respect of child benefit awards payable to nationals of other EU member states is not collected at regional or constituency level.

Children: Day Care

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the proportion of income spent by households per decile of income of the population for childcare in (a) each of the last five financial years. and (b) each of the next five financial years.

David Gauke: The requested information is not available.

Debts

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the level of (a) secured and (b) unsecured personal debt of households in each income decile in each of the next four financial years.

Justine Greening: Official economic forecasts are produced by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). While the OBR do not produce forecasts by income decile, projections have been made for aggregate household debt alongside the Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2011. The forecasts are available from the OBR website at:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/wordpress/docs/household%20debt%20paper%20formatted.doc1.pdf

Departmental Consultants

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior civil servants in his Department at each grade had worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, Deloitte or KPMG immediately prior to taking up their appointment in each of the last four years; what consultancy agreements his Department had with those firms in each such year; and how many consultants from those firms have advised his Department in each such year.

Justine Greening: Fewer than five civil servants joined HM Treasury at senior civil servant pay band 1 in the financial year 2007-08 having worked for one of the listed firms immediately prior to taking up their appointment. No civil servants joining HM Treasury at a senior civil servant pay band since then had worked for one of the listed firms immediately prior to taking up their appointment.
	The consultancy contracts awarded to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, Deloitte or KPMG in each of the last four years are contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers 1. Investigation into the loss of confidential data by HMRC 1. Support to the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit 1. Support and project management services in the development of the Asset Protection Scheme — 
			  — 2. Advice on the conversion of departmental accounts to meet international financial reporting standards — — 
			  — 3. Support and project management services into the development of the Asset Protection Scheme — — 
			  — 4. Advice on data quality for financial information purposes — — 
			      
			 Ernst and Young 1. Procurement audit work 1. IT security, procurement and business continuity audit work 1. Support in the development of the Asset Protection Scheme 1. Provision of management information for HM Treasury’s financial information requirements Combined on-line Information System (COINS) 
			  — 2. Advice on the special resolution regime 2. Advice on internal audit arrangements across central Government — 
			  — 3. Advice following the resolution of Bradford and Bingley 3. Provision of management information for HM Treasury’s financial information requirements Combined on-line Information System (COINS) — 
			  — 4. Support in the development of the Asset Protection Scheme — — 
			      
			 Deloitte 1. Advice on Human Resource IT system 1. Advice on the benefits of sukuk issuance 1. Consultancy support for Equitable Life Payment Scheme (ELPS) 1. Consultancy support for Equitable Life Payment Scheme 
			  2. Support and advice on Northern Rock 2. Support in the development of the Asset Protection Scheme 2. Advice on PFI guidance — 
			  3. Analysis of generic financial advice 3. Advice to the independent review of British offshore financial centres — — 
		
	
	
		
			  — 4. Analytical support to the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit — — 
			      
			 KPMG — 1. Support in the development of the Asset Protection Scheme 1. Support in the development of the Asset Protection Scheme — 
			  — 2. Audit services 2. Advice on Dunfermline Building Society — 
			  — — 3. Advice to Money Guidance pathfinder operational review — 
		
	
	The information requested on how many consultants from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, Deloitte or KPMG who have advised the Department in each of the last four years is not held centrally by the Department and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Work Experience

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree of 22 October 2010, Official Report, column 896W, on departmental work experience, 
	(1)  what guidelines his Department issues on recruitment, selection, advertisement and operation of unpaid placements;
	(2)  how many (a) persons undertaking unpaid work experience, (b) unpaid interns and (c) other persons in unpaid positions were working in his Departments as of 1 July 2011.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury does not run unpaid placement schemes centrally.
	On 1 July 2011 there were no unpaid interns or persons undertaking unpaid work experience in HM Treasury.

Energy: Prices

Albert Owen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his oral Answer of 6 September 2011, Official Report, columns 170-1, on domestic energy prices, what steps the Government is taking to curb excessive price increases for electricity and gas.

Justine Greening: h olding answer 13 September 2011
	Government are taking a range of actions to increase people's control over their energy bills. These include finance for energy efficiency improvements, help for the most vulnerable consumers with energy efficiency and bills, support for microgeneration and consumer empowerment through smart meter roll-out and better information. Consumers should continue to check that they are on the best tariff for their needs and consider switching suppliers.
	Ofgem monitors the market closely to check consumers are paying a fair price for their gas and electricity. Ofgem is currently consulting on additional measures to boost competition and consumer protection in gas and electricity markets.

EU Budget

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps he has taken to promote a programme of financial waste reduction in EU institutions.

Justine Greening: holding answer 9 September 2011
	The Government's top priority is to reduce the size of the EU Budget, through both annual and longer term Financial Perspective negotiations. The UK has consistently pressed member states for a concerted effort to ensure all EU spending delivers the highest value for money, through strict prioritisation to reduce waste.
	The UK has first aimed to minimise annual growth in administrative expenditure in EU institutions. The Government, working in the EU Council, reduced the 2012 administrative budget from the 1.3% first proposed, to 0.4%. We are also working to achieve very significant savings in such spending over the next financial perspective, through reductions in three major areas: EU staff remuneration, EU staff numbers and all other administrative spending such as EU procurement and support services.

Excise Duties: Gaming Machines

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many responses he has received to the consultation on machine games duty.

Justine Greening: The number of responses received during the consultation will be included in the summary of responses, which will be published in the autumn.

Excise Duties: Gaming Machines

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to respond to the consultation on machine games duty.

Justine Greening: A summary of responses to the consultation will be published in the autumn.

Freedom of Information

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of requests made to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were not answered within 20 working days between (a) 6 April 2007 and 5 April 2008, (b) 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2009 and (c) 6 April 2009 and 5 April 2010.

Justine Greening: holding answer 12 September 2011
	Statistics on the Treasury's performance under the Freedom of Information Act are available from the House Library and published by the Ministry of Justice. Data covering 2009 and 2010 are available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/foi/implementation.htm
	and for 2007 and 2008 it is available at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly-archive.htm
	The data published comply with the agreed reporting requirements for central Government Departments, meaning that they are organised in calendar years. HMT's performance over the period in question was:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Answered by the deadline 95 100 99 99 
			 Within 20 working days 80 93 92 95 
			 With permitted extension 15 7 7 4

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the review into the effectiveness of the 50p rate of income tax will consider the effects of the tax rate on the economy including loss of revenue resulting from relocations overseas.

David Gauke: The Chancellor has asked HM Revenue and Customs to assess the revenue from the 50% rate of income tax. As I outlined in debates around the 2011 Finance Bill, HMRC will consider all available evidence around the impact of the 50% rate including data from the 2010-11 self-assessment returns which will become available next year.
	The Chancellor also made clear in his Budget 2011 speech that the 50% rate is a temporary measure. In an age when businesses, capital and people are increasingly mobile, high tax rates send a negative signal to those looking to work and invest in the UK.

Legal Aid

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has had discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Justice, (b) the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (c) the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (d) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and (e) the Secretary of State for Health on the implications for their Department's budgets of proposed reform of civil legal aid.

Danny Alexander: No. This is primarily a matter for the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. As the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury explained on 17 June, the impact of all policies, including the impact on the public purse, is considered carefully as part of both formal impact assessments and the Cabinet Office clearance process.

Members: Correspondence

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of responses to items of correspondence received from the public and hon. Members to his Department since 25 May 2010 to the Treasury have not met his Department's correspondence targets.

Justine Greening: holding answer 7 September 2011
	I refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office's written statement on Members and Peers correspondence dated 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 1WS. Statistics for each Department's timelines in replying to correspondence received from members in 2011 will be similarly published in 2012.
	Such statements do not cover correspondence direct from members of the public, which is generally handled by officials. Since 25 May 2010, 4,358 (29%) of these letters were not replied to within the target 15 working days.
	In the face of continuing high volumes of correspondence for a relatively small Department, the Treasury is redesigning its processes to improve performance in this regard.

National Insurance Contributions: Birmingham

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Birmingham have participated in the national insurance contributions holiday since the scheme came into effect.

David Gauke: As of 22 August 2011, HMRC has received a total of 136 successful applications for the NICs holiday from Birmingham city council constituencies, including:
	Edgbaston
	Erdington
	Hall Green
	Hodge Hill
	Ladywood
	Northfield
	Perry Barr
	Selly Oak
	Sutton Coldfield
	Yardley.

National Insurance Contributions: Birmingham

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency have participated in the employer national insurance contributions holiday since the scheme came into effect.

David Gauke: As of 15 August, HMRC has received eight successful applications from businesses in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency.

National Insurance Contributions: Northern Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new businesses established in Belfast East constituency have participated in the National Insurance Holiday scheme.

David Gauke: As of 17 August 2011, HMRC has received a total of 15 successful applications for the NICs Holiday from Belfast East constituency.

Parliamentary Questions: Costs

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2011, Official Report, column 400W, on social security benefits: overseas residence, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of collecting and collating the data contained in the Answer; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Information concerning the number of ongoing child benefit awards under EC Regulation 883/2004 and the children covered by such awards is provided by an existing database in HM Revenue and Customs. The current costs of collating and collecting that data are, therefore, minimal.

Taxation: Foreign Companies

David Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the contribution of controlled foreign companies to the national tax gap in each year since 2005.

David Gauke: The new set of tax gap estimates will be published in Measuring Tax Gaps 2011 on 21 September 2011. The estimates for corporation tax include the contribution made by the CFC regime. The estimates cannot be shared before 21 September because of Official Statistics protocols.

Taxation: Foreign Companies

David Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that the tax regime applying to controlled foreign companies (CFCs) reduces the tax gap during the comprehensive spending review period; and what estimate has been made of the contribution CFCs will make to reducing the tax gap in each year of that period.

David Gauke: Proposals for the design of a new controlled foreign company (CFC) regime were published on 30 June 2011 and are subject to consultation at present. The new CFC regime will be introduced during the comprehensive spending review period. One aim of the design proposals is to minimise any tax gap arising from the new regime.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Concessions

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pensioners have claimed free bus travel in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since the concession's inception.

Norman Baker: The Department does not have information about use of the free bus travel concession at individual local authority level.
	Population estimates from the Office for National Statistics show the numbers of people of eligible age for an England national bus pass, from mid-year 2008 to mid-year 2010:
	
		
			 Thousand 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 (a) Jarrow n/a n/a n/a 
			 (b) South Tyneside 35.8 36.5 36.9 
			 (c) The North East 594.6 604.5 615.0 
			 (d) England 11,324.2 11,541.1 11,746.5 
		
	
	The National Travel Survey 2010 estimates that, in England, 78% of eligible older people hold an England national bus pass.
	The number of concessionary passenger journeys on local bus services in England from 2007-08 to 2009-10 can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/bus0105
	The right to free bus travel for both older and disabled people is enshrined in primary legislation and, in last year's spending review, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), confirmed the Government's commitment to protect the free bus travel concession.

Bus Services: Concessions

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on concessionary bus travel for pensioners in (a) England and (b) the City of York in each year since such schemes were introduced.

Norman Baker: Following the introduction of the England-wide statutory off-peak bus travel concession for older and disabled people in April 2008, the Department for Transport provided a portion of the funding through a special grant to local authorities from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2011. Figures for the special grant for England and for the City of York in each of those years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 England 212 217 223 
			 City of York 1.112 1.138 1.520 
		
	
	From 1 April 2011 all funding for concessionary travel is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) through formula grant. Prior to that date, DCLG provided the majority of funding. In each year, returns to DCLG show that local authorities spent, in total, around £1 billion on both the statutory concession and their own locally funded enhancements to concessionary travel schemes. Further information is published by DCLG at the following web link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1827069.xls

Bus Services: Concessions

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from (a) coach operators, (b) disability organisations, (c) other organisations and (d) individuals on changes in the funding of the concessionary coach travel scheme.

Norman Baker: holding answer 7 September 2011
	By 12 September 2011, the Department for Transport had received representations on changes in the funding of the concessionary coach travel scheme from a coach operator and a number of individuals.
	The Department has not received representations from any other organisations, including disability organisations, though individual Ministers may have in their constituency capacities.
	The funding changes were announced as part of the 2010 spending review.

Bus Services: Contracts

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) quality contracts and (b) quality partnerships exist governing bus services in England; and what geographical locations they cover in each such case.

Norman Baker: Local transport authorities are not required to consult or inform the Government when making bus Quality Contract or Quality Partnership Schemes. It is my understanding that there are no Quality Contract Schemes in effect in England, and that there are currently three statutory Quality Partnership Schemes in effect in England: in Barnsley, in Nottingham and in Bath and North East Somerset.

Bus Services: GPS

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on which Passenger Transport Executives have bus fleets which (a) are fitted and (b) they plan to fit with global positioning system tracking systems.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not collect information from Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) on whether the bus operators serving their areas are using buses or plan to use buses fitted with global positioning systems (GPS). The Department does publish statistics on the percentage of buses fitted with automatic vehicle location equipment (AVL), including GPS, which is collected through its annual public service vehicle survey of operators. This includes a figure for the English metropolitan areas (the six English PTEs). In 2009-10 53% of buses operating in the English metropolitan areas were fitted with AVL equipment. This is available on the Department's website at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/bus0606.xls

Bus Services: Standards

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent report he has received from the Traffic Commissioners on bus punctuality.

Norman Baker: The latest published report from the Traffic Commissioners is the "Traffic Commissioners' Annual Reports 2009-10" which reports on their judicial, regulatory and administrative roles, including bus punctuality. Copies of the report were placed in the Libraries of the House when it was published in November 2010.

Caravans: Accidents

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on accidents related to the road worthiness of caravans;
	(2)  what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the road worthiness of (i) type 1 and (ii) type 2 trailers.

Michael Penning: Research has been commissioned to determine the relevance of roadworthiness defects in accidents involving light trailers, included caravans, with an unladen weight not exceeding 1,020 kg that are drawn by a motor vehicle. The research will be evaluated and published once complete.

Cars: Tyres

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to extend the MOT test to cover spare tyres.

Michael Penning: I have no plans to extend the MOT test to include examination of spare tyres. I do intend to review the MOT test more broadly and expect to be in a position to clarify scope and timing of the review in the autumn.

Cycling: Children

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage children to (a) walk and (b) cycle to school; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Government are taking steps to encourage children to walk and cycle to school. In January we announced the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. The Fund will make £560 million available to local authorities to help build strong local economies and address at a local level the urgent challenges of climate change, delivering cleaner environments, improving safety, and increasing physical activity. Many local authorities that were successful in bidding to the Fund in the first tranche have included school-based initiatives in their plans.
	Furthermore, in 2011-12 the Fund has supported national projects including walk to school initiatives, walking and cycling links to schools and "Bike It" officers.
	The Government have also committed to support Bikeability cycle training for the remainder of this Parliament. £11 million in grant funding has been made available in 2011-12, which will provide the opportunity for around 275,000 children to receive training at school.

Departmental Written Questions

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of written questions tabled to him for answer on a named day did not receive a substantive answer on the day named for answer between (a) 27 May 2010 and 19 July 2011 and (b) 9 March 2011 and 19 July 2011.

Norman Baker: Of the 929 named day questions tabled to the Department between 27 May 2010 and 19 July 2011, 502 (54%) received a holding, rather than a substantive, reply on the day named for answer. The corresponding figures for the period 9 March to 19 July 2011 were 320 and 175 (55%) respectively.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009-10 Parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Driving: Eyesight

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the replacement of the number-plate test for drivers with a comprehensive eye test by a qualified medical practitioner (a) when taking an initial driving test, (b) for drivers at age 70 and (c) for all drivers at 10 year intervals.

Michael Penning: The Government are committed to reducing the regulatory burden on business and the public, and has no plans to commission research on replacing the existing number plate test with a more expensive compulsory eye-test.

Driving: Licensing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the policy of a driving licence holder undertaking a self-assessment to inform the potential suspension of a licence on medical grounds by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: There are no plans to review the current policy of self-notification by drivers of medical conditions that may affect their ability to drive safely.
	Introducing a system of independent medical assessments by doctors for all driving licence applicants would cause great inconvenience and expense and is unnecessary. The current self-notification requirement strikes the right balance between road safety and the need for personal mobility.

Driving: Licensing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average time taken by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is, once informed of concerns on medical grounds, of a driver's fitness to drive, to complete an investigation and, where appropriate, revoke the driver's licence; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The average time taken to complete a medical investigation into a driver's fitness to drive following a third party notification is not recorded. The agency's published service standards state that where medical inquires are needed, the agency will aim to make a decision in 85% of cases within 90 working days.

Driving: Licensing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are taken by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to enforce the self-assessment of drivers who, on medical grounds, may be considered unfit to drive; whether third parties may make representations to the DVLA to investigate such drivers; whether medical professionals and the police have an obligation to report their concerns to the DVLA; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: It is a criminal offence to fail to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of a medical condition that may affect safe driving. DVLA makes information about the medical standards needed for driver licensing available on the application form, on information leaflets and also on the Internet to enable drivers to make an informed self-declaration.
	The DVLA will accept third party notifications. These are often made by relatives, neighbours and health care professionals. Although there is no legal requirement for the police and medical professionals to make such notifications, guidelines issued by the General Medical Council and the College of Optometrists recommend reporting to DVLA if advice from a doctor or optometrist to stop driving has been ignored.

Driving: Licensing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average length of time was between a driver suspended from driving to receiving a notice of the revocation of their licence from the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The average time taken between a decision being made to revoke a driving licence following a third party notification and the driver receiving that notification is not held. From when the notification is prepared and sent, a four-day postal delivery period is included to ensure the driver is aware of the revocation before it becomes effective.

Electric Vehicles

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2011, Official Report, column 434W, on electric vehicles, how many Type 2 connectors he expects to be installed in 2011; and in which locations.

Norman Baker: As I mentioned in my response of 14 July 2011, Official Report, column 434W, this is a matter on which industry leads.
	The market is already beginning to move towards the Type II connector to enable faster public recharging. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of Type II connectors that the market will install this year and their precise locations.
	The Plugged-In Places projects are already installing Type II connectors though some projects have elected to continue installing some standard three-pin charge points, for a short time, to support legacy electric vehicles that are not in a position to utilise the Type II connector.
	All projects plan to move to install only Type II infrastructure in public places before the end of the year.

Energy Networks

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage the linking of the trans-European transport and energy networks.

Theresa Villiers: As yet the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has not taken any such steps.

Government Car and Despatch Agency: Uniforms

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government Car and Despatch Agency has spent on uniforms for its drivers in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Michael Penning: Records available for the period April 2010 to March 2011 show that the Government Car and Despatch Agency spent £16,000 on uniforms during that time. All purchases were made through OGC Buying Solutions. Of the £16,000 spent, £11,000 was spent on Government mail driver uniforms and £5,000 on Government Car driver uniforms. By way of comparison, for the period April 2009 to March 2010 the Government Car and Despatch Agency spent a total of £41,000 on uniforms.

Humber Bridge

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what purpose CCTV is used on the Humber Bridge; and what the cost has been of (a) installation and (b) maintenance since its installation.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not have responsibility for operation of the Humber bridge. The Humber Bridge Board may be able to supply the information requested.

M1: Road Traffic

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further steps he plans to take to reduce congestion northbound between junctions 27 and 28 on the M1 motorway at rush hour times; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The congestion northbound is due to the transition from the four lane section to a three lane section at junction 28. There is also additional traffic that joins the northbound M1 from the A38.
	Recent Improvements
	M1 Junction 27 to 28 forms part of the section that was widened in May 2010. This comprises a section of controlled motorway designed to reduce congestion. It uses variable mandatory speed limits to help manage traffic flows at peak times or following an incident. It is a component of managed motorways, which uses a range of innovative technology combined with new operating procedures to actively control traffic flow. Techniques such as varying the speed limits, opening up the hard shoulder to traffic or limiting access to the motorway from slip roads when needed are all measures of managed motorways designed to reduce congestion.
	Future Improvements
	M1 J28 to 31 Managed Motorway scheme is currently in the preliminary design phase, which will be completed by summer 2012. This scheme is prioritised as one of the fourteen schemes which is to proceed into construction before April 2015. The project will increase the capacity of the M1 Junction 28 to 31, by making the existing hard shoulder suitable for use as a running lane and introducing managed motorway technology.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking in respect of the cost of insurance premiums for motorists.

Michael Penning: The Government are concerned about the rising cost of motor insurance and are taking a number of steps to mitigate this including:
	The Ministry of Justice are taking forward fundamental reform to no win no fee conditional fee agreements, which will make the costs of defending personal injury claims more proportionate. These reforms are included in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, currently before Parliament.
	The Government will ban referral fees in personal injury cases.
	Reduce uninsured driving by the recent introduction of a new offence of keeping a vehicle without insurance, known as the continuous insurance enforcement scheme.
	Tackling fraud by; (a) from 2012 a specialist insurance fraud police unit will be established; and (b) looking to allow insurers access to the DVLA driver record to prevent situations where drivers who have given inaccurate information when taking out insurance being only detected when they make a claim, which can then be refused.
	The Government are taking a number of steps as set out in the Road Safety Strategy published on 11 May such as; the introduction of fixed penalty notices for careless driving, tougher enforcement for drink and drug driving, better information for the public and professionals, more remedial education and improvements in training and testing.

Motor Vehicles: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many domestic vehicles in each vehicle excise duty band were registered to addresses in York in the latest period for which figures are available.

Michael Penning: The following table gives the number of privately registered cars, motorcycles (including scooters and mopeds) and light vans, broken down by vehicle excise duty class, that were licensed and registered to addresses in the city of York unitary council on 30 June 2011.
	
		
			  Number 
			 Post-2001 cars (based on CO2 emissions)  
			 Cars Band A (up to 100 g/km) 171 
			 Cars Band B (101-110 g/km) 1,212 
			 Cars Band C (111-120 g/km) 3,062 
			 Cars Band D (121-130 g/km) 2,905 
			 Cars Band E (131-140 g/km) 8,104 
			 Cars Band F (141-150 g/km) 9,007 
			 Cars Band G (151-165 g/km) 13,546 
			 Cars Band H (166-175 g/km) 6,013 
			 Cars Band I (176-185 g/km) 4,530 
		
	
	
		
			 Cars Band J (186-200 g/km) 4,447 
			 Cars Band K(1) (201-225 g/km) 4,326 
			 Cars Band L (226-255 g/km) 1,368 
			 Cars Band M (over 255 g/km) 890 
			   
			 Pre-2001 cars (based on engine size)  
			 Cars over 1549cc 8,914 
			 Cars under 1550 cc 6,000 
			   
			 Cars exempt from VED 1,334 
			   
			 Motorcycles  
			 Motorcycles up to 150 cc 1,601 
			 Motorcycles 151 to 400 cc 327 
			 Motorcycles 401 to 600 cc 626 
			 Motorcycles more than 600 cc 1,907 
			 Motorcycles exempt from VED 501 
			   
			 Light goods vehicles(2)  
			 Light goods under 1550 cc 216 
			 Light goods over 1549 cc 3,865 
			 Light goods exempt from VED 144 
			 (1) Band K includes cars that have a CO2 figure over 225 g/km but were registered before 23 March 2006. (2) Includes only light goods vehicles that are privately registered. It is likely that some of these vehicles will also be used for commercial purposes.

Railways: Fares

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the potential effect on rail passenger numbers of the proposed increase in rail fares.

Theresa Villiers: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne) on 10 November 2010, Official Report, column 335W.

Rescue Services

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how an emergency incident would be co-ordinated from beginning to end and what the role of the (a) Maritime Operations Centre and (b) Maritime Rescue Sub-Centres will be in that process under his Department's revised proposals for the future of the coastguard.

Michael Penning: The role of the Maritime Operations Centre and Maritime Rescue Sub-Centres in coordinating an emergency incident, under the revised coastguard modernisation proposals can be found on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/concept_of_operations_doc

Roads: Accidents

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many road users excluding cyclists have been (a) killed or (b) injured in (i) Pendle constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) nationwide in road traffic accidents involving cyclists in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many cyclists have been (a) killed or (b) injured as a result of road traffic accidents in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The number of reported road casualties, excluding pedal cyclists, (a) killed or (b) seriously or slightly injured, resulting from reported personal injury road accidents involving pedal cyclists is shown in Table 1, for the years 2006-10 and for the areas requested.
	The number of reported pedal cyclists (a) killed or (b) seriously or slightly injured, as a result of reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain is shown in Table 2, for the years 2006-10.
	
		
			 Table 1: Reported road casualties, excluding pedal cyclists, resulting from reported personal injury road accidents involving pedal cyclists, by injury severity and area, 2006-10 
			 Number of casualties 
			  Killed Seriously or slightly injured 
			 Accident year Pendle  (1) Lancashire  (2) GB Pendle  (1) Lancashire  (2) GB 
			 2006 0 0 4 0 13 505 
			 2007 0 0 2 0 14 502 
			 2008 0 0 0 1 29 436 
			 2009 0 0 2 0 12 497 
			 2010 0 0 2 1 13 469 
			 (1) Parliamentary constituency of Pendle, based on 2010 constituency boundary. (2) Includes Blackburn and Blackpool unitary authorities. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Reported pedal cyclist casualties, by injury severity, GB: 2006-10 
			 Number of casualties 
			 Accident year Killed Seriously or slightly injured All pedal cyclist casualties 
			 2006 146 16,050 16,196 
			 2007 136 16,059 16,195 
			 2008 115 16,182 16,297 
			 2009 104 16,960 17,064 
			 2010 111 17,074 17,185

Shipping: EU Law

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to implement a new port state control system following the request from the European Commission of 19 May 2011.

Michael Penning: The UK already has an established port state control regime based on the 1995 Council Directive. The Commission's letter concerns the UK's implementation of the recast 2009 Directive, with part of which the UK is already compliant. Draft UK Regulations and supporting documents to complete implementation of the Directive are under consultation with the shipping sector until 9 September. After consideration of the responses and regulatory clearance, the draft Regulations are intended to be in place by the end of the year.

Speed Limits: Carbon Emissions

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the recommendations contained in the Committee on Climate Change's recent progress report on enforcement of speed limits to reduce carbon emissions.

Michael Penning: Enforcement of speed limits is a matter for the police. The latest figures, not available when the Committee on Climate Change's report was drafted, show that speeding on the motorways declined in 2010. Preliminary work considering the increase of the motorway speed limit to 80 mph is in progress: carbon emissions will be part of the assessment.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which external consultants were contracted to advise his Department on the (a) design, (b) tendering and (c) award of preferred bidder status for the Thameslink rolling stock contract; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such contract. [R]

Theresa Villiers: The cost of each contract against the categories requested up to June 2011 is as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Vendor (a) Design (b) Tendering  (1) (c)  Award of preferred bidder status 
			 Arup 2.53 2.86 0.14 
			 Booz and Company 0.22 0.49 0.09 
			 Freshfields 2.44 5.31 0.18 
			 Interfleet 0.16 1.49 0.02 
			 PWC 0.77 2.26 0.26 
			 Total 6.12 12.4 0.69 
			 Total 19.2 
			 (1 )Tendering relates to evaluation. Note: These figures exclude VAT.

Travel: Accidents

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatal and (b) serious travel-related accidents there have been in (i) the City of York and (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 1996-97.

Michael Penning: The number of (a) fatal and (b) serious road accidents reported to the police, in (i) York unitary authority and (ii) the former Government office region of Yorkshire and the Humber, is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of personal injury road accidents 
			  (i) York unitary authority (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber  (1) 
			  (a) Fatal (b) Serious (a)   Fatal (b) Serious 
			 1996(2) 3 59 292 3,220 
			 1997 7 111 295 3,175 
			 1998 4 70 286 3,001 
			 1999 8 106 285 2,922 
			 2000 12 73 288 2,800 
			 2001 6 108 299 2,858 
			 2002 8 103 294 2,893 
			 2003 8 70 296 2,808 
			 2004 7 94 288 2,709 
			 2005 9 71 276 2,507 
			 2006 6 114 278 2,538 
			 2007 4 77 254 2,579 
			 2008 9 71 203 2,362 
			 2009 4 51 189 2,094 
			 2010 4 56 161 1,965 
			 (1) The former Government office region of Yorkshire and the Humber (2) In April 1996 the city of York local authority became a unitary authority and increased in size. 
		
	
	The Department does not hold any railway and air accident information broken down for the City of York and the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Vehicle Number Plates: Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on how many vehicles registered in Great Britain have a national flag on their number plate.

Michael Penning: The Department does not hold any information about the number of Great Britain registered vehicles with a national flag on their number plate.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve the availability of equipment to be despatched to armed forces in Afghanistan.

Peter Luff: Success in Afghanistan is the top priority for Defence and we are fully committed to ensuring that the campaign is properly resourced, funded and equipped. Operational commanders have confirmed they have the equipment they need to fulfil the strategy set for them in Afghanistan. This is the result of a continual cycle of equipment upgrades since operations began, a process the Government remains firmly committed to.
	On support to current operations, 95% of urgent operational requirements exceeded or met the expected delivery date, 42% were achieved below the approved cost and 104 of the 106 projects approved were delivered in-year.
	For our longer-term equipment programmes we have developed an early warning system that uses key performance indicators to indicate where we may have future issues on a project that will need to be addressed. The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) has also established the Major Projects Review Board which will regularly review the top 50 equipment projects managed by the Department to ensure that corrective measures are taken, particularly where a project is running over budget or behind expected timelines.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) official and (b) VIP visits to (i) Headley Court and (ii) the wards of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham managed by his Department his Department has authorised since 12 May 2010; and how many applications for such visits have been refused.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 12 September 2011
	Records of official visits to these facilities date from June 2010. In that period, this Department has authorised 31 such visits to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, during which a total of 40 senior military officials and civilian VIPs attended. 25 visits were authorised to the designated Military Ward at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, Birmingham, during which a total of 37 senior military officials and civilian VIPs attended. Visits by groups such as the House of Commons Defence Committee are counted as a single visit, but with the total number of visitors counted separately. The numbers provided exclude supporting personnel such as military assistants. Records of visits refused are not held.

Defence Support Group

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with (a) Babcock, (b) BAE Systems and (c) General Dynamics UK on the sale of Defence Support Group properties.

Peter Luff: Defence Ministers and officials meet with industry on a routine basis to discuss a wide range of defence issues, including the sale of the Defence Support Group (DSG). I am withholding details of these discussions as their disclosure would prejudice commercial interests. Nevertheless, the decision to sell the DSG, announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review White Paper last October, has generated significant interest within industry. Although the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is not yet in a position to invite formal expressions of interest in the sale, we have received some early and speculative approaches from a number of companies, including BAES, Babcock and General Dynamics (UK). MOD officials have met informally with BAES and Babcock, at the request of the companies, to allow them to explain their interest in the DSG in more detail.

Defence: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which foreign companies have been awarded contracts that included an obligation for industrial participation in the latest period for which figures are available; what the value of each contract was; and which of these contracts was subject to Treaty exemption under Article 346.

Peter Luff: The UK's industrial participation policy is voluntary. No foreign defence companies have been awarded contracts that include a contractual obligation for industrial participation. We are currently reviewing our industrial participation policy to ensure it remains compatible with EU law.

Defence: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information regarding offset commitments has been provided to the European Defence Agency since Directive 2009/81/EC was transposed into UK law.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has not presented any information to the European Defence Agency in relation to the UK's industrial participation commitments for foreign Defence companies since Directive 2009/81/EC was transposed into national law.

European Fighter Aircraft

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has considered using the Typhoon as an alternative to the F35 Joint Strike Fighter to serve on the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers; and if he will estimate the potential cost to the public purse of using the Typhoon as an alternative to the F35 Joint Strike Fighter in terms of (a) initial purchase, (b) maintenance and (c) compatibility with the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Peter Luff: holding answer 12 September 2011
	A 'marinised' variant of the Typhoon aircraft was considered, along with a number of other options, before the decision was taken to select the Joint Strike Fighter to satisfy the UK's future Joint Combat Aircraft requirement. All option studies undertaken to date have consistently concluded that the Joint Strike Fighter provided the best value for money in light of our future capability requirements.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Statement by the Prime Minister of 19 October 2010, Official Report, column 801, and with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for North Durham, of 20 July 2011, Official Report, column 1140W, on joint strike fighter aircraft, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the carrier version of the joint strike fighter will be less expensive than the version commissioned by the previous Administration.

Peter Luff: All cost data provided by both the Joint Strike Fighter F35 contractors and the US Department of Defense indicate that the average unit price for the carrier variant will be lower than that estimated for the Short Take Off and Vertical Landing variant. These costs are supported by latest production data and are independently validated both in the US and UK.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of weapons used by UK forces in support of Operation Ellamy was represented by Brimstone and precision missiles.

Nick Harvey: From the start of current operations in Libya up till 1 September 2011, UK forces have employed around 1,100 precision guided munitions, 110 direct fire weapons, 4,100 rounds of direct fire 30 mm cannon rounds, and around 240 high explosive or illumination rounds from 4.5 inch naval guns. Therefore, excluding 30 mm cannon rounds, 76% of weapons employed were precision guided. We carefully select the type of weapon in every engagement to ensure the most appropriate munition is used to deliver the required effect, while minimising the risk of civilian casualties.
	The precision guided munitions used include Dual Mode Seeker Brimstone, Enhanced Paveway II, Paveway IV, Storm Shadow missiles and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles. Direct fire munitions include Hellfire missiles and CRV-7 rockets.

RAF Coningsby

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether additional Quick Reaction Alert provision will be created at RAF Coningsby following the drawdown of the Typhoon force from RAF Leuchars.

Nick Harvey: Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) North will transfer from RAF Leuchars to RAF Lossiemouth therefore there is no plan for additional QRA provision created at RAF Coningsby.

Type 26 Frigates

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Capability Decision Point will be reached for the Type 26 Frigate programme.

Peter Luff: The Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme is currently in its assessment phase, which is expected to be complete by early 2014. The capability decision point, an internal programme milestone, will be reached as part of this phase.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for future unmanned combat air vehicles research funding; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: In March 2011, the Defence Research and Development Board endorsed the concept of an “Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) research and development pipeline.”
	This will provide high level overview of, and direction to, the UK's UAS research and technology effort, which includes that relevant to unmanned combat air vehicles, over the next five years. In addition to technological research it will underpin an ability to test, evaluate, support and operate such systems in the future.
	More about this pipeline can be found in the joint doctrine note 2/11 “The UK approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems” which is available at the following website:
	http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/microsite/dcdc/ourpublications/JDNP/JDN211TheUKApproachToUnmannedAircraftSystems.htm
	A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

EDUCATION

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of childcare settings in (a) the 10 per cent. most deprived areas, (b) the 10 per cent. least deprived areas and (c) all areas were assessed as inadequate by Ofsted in each year since 2008-09.

Sarah Teather: This information is held by Ofsted. The chief inspector, Miriam Rosen, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Miriam Rosen, dated 7 September 2011
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	The information you require is presented in Tables A - C
	Ofsted's inspection framework for childcare changed on 1 September 2008 with the introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For 2008-09 we have therefore provided data separately for the inspection framework in place from 1 April 2008 - 31 August 2008 and the current Early Years Foundation Stage inspection framework, which was introduced on 1 September 2008.
	Our source for identifying the most and least deprived local authorities is the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) 2010. This is a supplementary index of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation and is produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government. It is updated every three years. More information can be found on the Department for Communities and Local Governments website:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/indices2010?view=Standard
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Sarah Teather MP, Minister of State for Children and Families, and will be placed in the library of both houses.
	
		
			 Table A: Inspections of child  care providers between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2011 for the 10% most deprived local authority areas  (1,2) 
			 Period Total inspections Total inadequate Percentage inadequate 
			 1 April 2008 to 31 August 2008 813 114 14 
			 Introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage    
			 1 September 2008 to 31 March 2009 965 110 11 
			 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 1,485 158 11 
			 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 1,166 91 8 
			 (1) Data are based on the information held about inspections as at 31 March 2011. (2) Source for identifying the 10% most and least deprived local authorities is the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index 2010, (IDACI 2010), a supplementary index of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2010 produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government: www.communities.gov.uk 
		
	
	
		
			 Table B: Inspection data for child care providers between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2011 for the 10% least deprived local authority areas  (1,2) 
			 Period Total inspections Total inadequate Percentage inadequate 
			 1 April 2008 to 31 August 2008 895 47 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage    
			 1 September 2008 to 31 March 2009 1,791 81 5 
			 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 2,728 113 4 
			 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 1,908 58 3 
			 (1) Data are based on the information held about inspections as at 31 March 2011. (2) Source for identifying the 10% most and least deprived local authorities is the income Deprivation Affecting Children Index 2010, (IDAD 2010), a supplementary Index of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2010 produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government www.communities.gov.uk 
		
	
	
		
			 Table C: Inspection data for child care providers between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2011 for England  (1) 
			 Period Total inspections Total inadequate Percentage inadequate 
			 1 April 2008 to 31 August 2008 8,931 670 8 
			 Introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage    
			 1 September 2008 to 31 March 2009 15,955 1,073 7 
			 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 24,313 1,444 6 
			 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 17,144 698 4 
			 (1) Data are based on the information held about inspections as at 31 March 2011

Early Years Foundation Stage Review

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how he plans to consider continence in the revised Early Years Foundation Stage; and whether the special education needs single statutory assessment and new developmental review for two-year-olds will include assessment of continence needs.

Sarah Teather: The revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) welfare requirements continue to require early years providers to take necessary steps to promote the welfare of children. The document provides a guide for practitioners on expectations in relation to children's development, including physical development, at different age ranges. Where providers have specific concerns about a child's progress they should engage parents and, if necessary, experts to provide appropriate support.
	Proposals for the revised EYFS include, subject to consultation, the introduction of a written summary of progress for all children attending early years provision between the ages of 24 and 36 months. This would cover children's development in the following areas: personal, social and emotional development, physical development and communication and language.
	Changes to the single assessment of special educational needs will be piloted in local areas. We are not yet in a position to make decisions about which assessments, and which provision, a new single plan might include.

Schools: Attendance

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures he plans to use to monitor the progress of the lowest attaining 20% of children in schools.

Sarah Teather: In the recent Green Paper, “Support and aspiration: a new approach to special educational needs and disability”, we announced our intention to introduce a new measure in performance tables relating to the progress made by the lowest attaining 20% of pupils. This measure is intended to help show parents and the public how well schools do in supporting those pupils who start with low attainment to progress. We have consulted on this proposal through the Green Paper consultation exercise and are carefully considering the responses. We will publish further detailed plans on this by the end of the year.

Schools: Sanitation

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to incorporate regulations on water and toilet facilities in his revision of the School Premises Regulations.

Nick Gibb: Subject to public consultation, which I expect to commence in October, the new regulations will include water supplies and toilet and washing facilities.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Alternative Vote

Thomas Docherty: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what his most recent estimate is of the funding that has been provided to (a) each local authority in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland and (b) the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland to meet the cost of the referendum on the alternative vote.

Gary Streeter: holding answer 13 September 2011
	The Electoral Commission informs me that a total of £79,762,679 was provided for in The Referendum on the Voting System (Counting Officers' Charges) Order 2011, which is available on:
	www.legislation.gov.uk
	Schedule 1 and 2 of the Order shows the maximum recoverable amounts for each voting area. In England voting areas were defined as local authority areas, however, in Scotland they were Scottish Parliament constituencies. In Wales the voting areas were the Welsh Assembly constituencies and Northern Ireland was a single voting area.
	Counting Officers and Regional Counting Officers have until 5 January 2012 to submit final accounts to the Election Claims Unit. It is only after all the final accounts have been received and agreed that the final cost of the referendum can be confirmed.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

High Street Support Scheme

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the funds provided by his Department in respect of the High Street Support scheme are allocated from existing budgets; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Department's £7 million contribution to the High Street Support scheme will be funded from existing budgets. This is possible through utilising underspends achieved through reducing the ongoing commitments and maximising the returns on assets as part of the closure of Regional Development Agencies.

Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether facilities provided to the ASLEF union and funded through the Transforming Communications with Union Members project from the Union Modernisation Fund have been used for campaigning and political purposes.

Edward Davey: The Transforming Communications Project created an enhanced website and mobile phone facilities in order to enable communication with members in a modern environment; provide access for members to documents libraries, which would otherwise not be available to them either because of size or cost; encourage members to express their views and identify training needs.
	We are not aware of the use of these facilities for campaigns or political purposes but a series of member surveys, discussion forums and online voting have been undertaken to provide improved opportunities for members to have their voice heard, to meet individual members’ needs and to improve membership services.
	Improving two-way communications between unions and their members and providing services geared to the needs of a diverse membership were key themes for this round of Union Modernisation Fund projects.

Business

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department collected any data on (a) levels of awareness among small and medium-sized businesses of sources of advice and support on compliance issues and (b) their satisfaction with such sources in each year since 2005.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills carries out regular surveys of businesses, many of which touch on awareness of compliance with regulation.
	In addition the Anderson Review (January 2009) “The Good Guidance Guide: taking the uncertainty out of regulation” focused on this issue. The BIS Small Business Survey asks small and medium-sized enterprise employers a range of questions including where they go for business advice and the nature of their query. For more detailed information see:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/policies/enterprise-and-business-support/analytical-unit/research-and-evaluation/cross-cutting-research
	The current consultation on Enforcement Strategy will gather further up to date evidence. This consultation will run until 16 September 2011, and can be found at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/better-regulation/improving-regulatory-delivery/consultation-enforcement-strategy

Businesses: Fraud

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the annual number of start-up businesses that fail as a result of fraudulent activity against such companies.

Edward Davey: The Office for National Statistics produce the official statistics on business start-ups and closures
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bus-register/business-demography/2009/index.html
	but information is not collected on the reason for business closure.

Foreign Defence Companies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what steps his Department takes to monitor whether foreign defence companies meet their industrial participation obligations;
	(2)  how many contracts by (a) company and (b) value have been placed with UK companies by foreign defence companies in order to reach the required level of industrial participation credits in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  which defence companies his Department is auditing regarding industrial participation.

Edward Davey: UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) monitors offshore companies' delivery of industrial participation (IP) through a Letter of Agreement (LOA). Under the terms and conditions of the LOA, the offshore company submits biannual reports to BIS.
	The UK invites foreign defence companies to submit voluntary IP proposals. Her Majesty's Government does not place IP contracts and does not specify a level of IP credit.
	The following defence companies submit a report in accordance with a Letter of Agreement with UK MOD:
	Boeing
	EADS
	Raytheon/ Lockheed Martin (Joint Programme)
	Elbit
	L-3 Communications.

Inward Investment: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much foreign investment in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) the City of York there was in each year since 2003; and what estimate he has made of the number of jobs generated by such investment in each of those years.

Edward Davey: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) records the number of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects entering the UK each year. The following table shows the number of FDI projects and associated jobs recorded by UKTI in Yorkshire and the Humber for financial years 2003/04 to 2010/11. Information specific to the City of York is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 FDI Projects in Yorkshire and the Humber 
			  Number of projects Number of new jobs Number of safeguarded jobs Total number of associated jobs 
			 2003/04 25 934 1,214 2,148 
			 2004/05 54 2,599 699 3,298 
			 2005/06 54 1,934 2,565 4,499 
			 2006/07 54 1,801 1,045 2,846 
			 2007/08 124 3,405 2,906 6,311 
			 2008/09 125 1,869 4,719 6,588 
			 2009/10 147 2,016 3,895 5,911 
			 2010/11 88 868 670 1,538 
			 Totals 671 15,426 17,713 33,139 
			 Source: UKTI Database

National Union of Rail Maritime and Transport Workers

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether facilities provided to the RMT union and funded through the RMT Remote Access Project have been used for campaigning and political purposes.

Edward Davey: The Remote Access Project created enhanced website facilities include an integrated voice messaging/SMS function to enable better targeting of services to meet individual members needs and to improve interaction between the union and its members.
	We are not aware of the use of these facilities for campaigns or political purposes but newsletters, circulars, bulletins and news articles were used between the union to raise awareness of union members of the development and subsequent availability of the website, the improved access to information and membership services for offices located remotely.
	Improving two-way communications between unions and their members and providing services geared to the needs of a diverse membership were key themes for this round of Union Modernisation Fund projects.

Overseas Investment: India

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had on the conduct of British-based multinational corporations that are investors in the acquisition of Adivasi land in central India.

Edward Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not had discussions with specific British multinationals that are investors in the acquisition of Adivasi land in central India on their conduct of these transactions.

Overseas Trade: Balkans

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the levels of (a) trade and (b) investment between the UK and (i) Macedonia and (ii) Serbia in (A) 2009 and (B) 2010.

Edward Davey: In 2009 bilateral trade in goods and services with Macedonia was valued at £76 million. In 2010 bilateral trade in goods with Macedonia was valued at £267 million.
	In 2009 bilateral trade in goods and services with Serbia and Montenegro was valued at £348 million. In(1) 2010 bilateral trade in goods with Serbia and Montenegro was valued at £183 million. (Data for the UK's trade in goods and services is not yet available separately for Serbia and Montenegro).
	Precise figures for the level of investment made by UK companies is more difficult to ascertain, but estimates put this figure for Macedonia at £46 million in 2010. UK investment in Serbia was estimated to be £45 million in 2009 and £46 million in 2010.
	No data are available for Macedonian or Serbian Foreign Direct Investment into the UK.
	(1 )Statistics for bilateral trade in goods and services for 2010 will be published on 5 October.

Unite

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether facilities provided to the Amicas/Unite union and funded through the Piloting IT Services for Branches Project have been used for campaigning and political purposes.

Edward Davey: The Piloting IT Services for Branches Project created enhanced website facilities including a discussion board to improve the services and communication for members from branch secretaries.
	We are not aware of the use of these facilities for campaigns or political purposes but a survey of IT skills was undertaken to meet the training needs of the union's branch secretaries. The development of these skills was necessary to support the website's discussion board facility and together with the introduction of weekly emails for members, was needed to improve engagement and communication and to provide more effective membership services.
	Improving two-way communications between unions and their members and providing services geared to the needs of a diverse membership were key themes for this round of Union Modernisation Fund projects.

JUSTICE

CCTV

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on the use of television cameras in law courts.

Kenneth Clarke: Last month I received a letter from the Lord Chief Justice on behalf of himself and senior judiciary regarding the use of television cameras in law courts. I also received letters from BBC News, Sky and ITN in January of this year following on from a meeting on this subject in October last year.

Civil Disorder: Compensation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many compensation orders have been issued to people found guilty of offences connected with public disorder in August 2011; and what the total amount of compensation specified in such orders is.

Crispin Blunt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 September 2011, Official Report, column 378W.

Departmental Manpower

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of the reduction in funding for staff of HM Courts and Tribunals Service to accompany magistrates to community meetings.

Kenneth Clarke: Decisions about funding for staff to accompany magistrates to community meetings are handled at a local level by HMCTS and are made on a case by case basis.
	While HMCTS is operating within a reduced budget as part of the Government's deficit reduction plan, there has been no specific reduction in the funding for staff to accompany magistrates to community meetings. Consequently there has been no assessment of the savings to the public purse.

Departmental Manpower

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the reduction in funding for HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff to accompany magistrates to community meetings.

Kenneth Clarke: Decisions about funding for staff to accompany magistrates to community meetings are handled at a local level by HMCTS and are made on a case by case basis.
	While HMCTS is operating within a reduced budget as part of the Government's deficit reduction plan, there has been no specific reduction in the funding for staff to accompany magistrates to community meetings. Consequently, there has been no assessment of the potential effects of the reduction in funding.

Departmental Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish the value of estimated tax receipts, calculated in accordance with the Green Book, in each public sector economic assessment of private finance initiative projects in procurement by his Department as of March 2011.

Kenneth Clarke: As of March 2011 the Ministry of Justice has no private finance initiatives projects in procurement and consequently there is no estimated value of tax receipts available.

Drugs: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in the London borough of Bexley have been convicted of offences of (a) possession and (b) supply of illegal class A drugs in each of the last five years; and how many people received (i) a custodial sentence and (ii) the maximum available sentence in each case.

Crispin Blunt: The number of persons found guilty and sentenced at all courts to immediate custody, and those receiving the maximum sentence available for possession, possession with intent to supply, and supply of a controlled drug in the Metropolitan police force area, for the years 2006 to 2010 (latest available) are presented in the following table.
	Information available centrally does not allow a breakdown of London borough cases.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring of 2012.
	
		
			 Number of persons found guilty at all courts and sentenced for possession, possession with intent to supply, and supply of a controlled drug  (1)  , and those receiving the maximum sentence available, Metropolitan police force area, 2006-10  (2,3) 
			 Drug offences/Outcome 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Possession class A (maximum seven years)      
			 Found guilty 11,469 13,389 14,599 13,742 12,254 
			 Sentenced(4) 11,402 13,286 14,516 13,670 12,175 
			 Of which:      
			 Immediate custody 796 903 985 776 779 
			 Other sentence(5) 10,606 12,383 13,531 12,894 11,396 
			 Maximum sentence(6) 8 2 4 9 2 
			       
			 Possession with intent to supply class A (maximum life)      
			 Found guilty 3,105 3,500 4,010 3,675 3,753 
			 Sentenced(4) 3,037 3,473 3,972 3,696 3,687 
			 Of which:      
			 Immediate custody 2,260 2,469 2,913 2,835 2,779 
			 Other sentence(5) 777 1,004 1,059 861 908 
			 Maximum sentence(6) — — 2 — — 
			       
			 Supply class A (maximum life)      
			 Found guilty 2,616 2,633 2,968 2,804 2,549 
			 Sentenced(4) 2,587 2,594 2,976 2,809 2,530 
			 Of which:      
			 Immediate custody 1,796 1,810 2,045 1,979 1,756 
			 Other sentence(5) 791 784 931 830 774 
		
	
	
		
			 Maximum sentence(6) — — 2 — — 
			 ‘—’ = Nil (1) Offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort Is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken Into account when those data are used. (4) Those sentenced may exceed those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty, and committed for sentence at the Crown court, may be sentenced In the following year. (5) Other sentence includes absolute discharge, conditional discharge, fine, community sentence, fully suspended sentence, and otherwise dealt with. (6) Maximum sentence for offences as follows: Possession class A: seven years Possession with intent to supply class A: life Supply class A: life Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Drugs: Reading

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in Reading West constituency have been convicted of (a) possession and (b) supply of illegal class A drugs in each of the last five years; and how many people received (i) a custodial sentence and (ii) the maximum sentence in each case.

Crispin Blunt: The number of persons found guilty and sentenced to immediate custody and those receiving the maximum sentence available at all courts for possession, supply and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug, in the Thames Valley police force area for the years 2006 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Information available centrally does not allow a breakdown of cases by parliamentary constituency.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in spring 2012.
	
		
			 Persons found guilty and sentenced at all courts for possession, supply and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug and maximum sentence available, Thames Valley police force area, 2006-10  (1,2) 
			 Drug offences 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Possession class A (Max 7 years)      
			 Found guilty 439 494 493 450 394 
			 Total sentenced(3) 436 491 490 450 397 
			 Immediate custody 27 46 36 32 24 
			 Other sentences(4) 409 445 454 418 373 
			 Maximum sentence(5) — — — — — 
			       
			 Supply class A (Max life)      
			 Found guilty 112 105 129 81 116 
		
	
	
		
			 Total sentenced(3) 114 104 131 79 113 
			 Immediate custody 93 72 94 55 68 
			 Other sentences(4) 21 32 37 24 25 
			 Maximum sentence(5) — — — — — 
			       
			 Possession with intent to supply Class A (Max life)      
			 Found guilty 38 23 32 35 23 
			 Total sentenced(3) 37 22 34 34 22 
			 Immediate custody 21 11 25 29 12 
			 Other sentences(4) 16 11 9 5 10 
			 Maximum sentence(5) — — — — — 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The sentenced column may exceed those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty, and committed for sentence at the Crown court, may be sentenced in the following year. (4) Other sentences: absolute and conditional discharge, fine, community sentences, suspended sentences, otherwise dealt with. (5) Maximum custodial sentences as follows: Possession class A—7 years: Supply class A—life; Possession with intent to supply class A—life. All offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Incentives

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Prison Service has spent on staff bonuses in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: Depending on their various terms and conditions, staff employed in the National Offender Management Service (including HM Prison Service) may be eligible for (a) ‘year end’ and (b) ‘in year’ non-consolidated performance related pay.
	The National Offender Management Service (including HM Prison Service) has different staff groups who are covered by separate pay determination arrangements and ‘year end’ and ‘in year’ non-consolidated performance payments are made. The Senior Salaries Review Body provides recommendations on non-consolidated performance payments for members of the senior civil service (SCS).
	Information on the total amount of ‘year end’ non-consolidated performance payments paid to staff below SCS across the National Offender Management Service (including HM Prison Service) in the 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 performance years is contained in the following table(1):
	
		
			 Performance year Total amount paid (£) 
			 2008-09 1,426,330 
			 2009-10 1,629,784 
			 2010-11 1,487,082 
		
	
	Information on the total amount of ‘in year’ non-consolidated performance payments paid to staff below the SCS across the National Offender Management Service (including HM Prison Service) in the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 financial years is contained in the following table(2):
	
		
			 Financial year Total amount paid (£) 
			 2008-09 2,110,012 
			 2009-10 1,609,340 
			 2010-11 966,852 
		
	
	(1) Information excludes senior civil servants which are reported by the Ministry of Justice as a whole.
	(2) Information has been adjusted to exclude payments that have been found not to be ‘in year’ performance payments. The figures presented here will therefore differ from previously published totals. Information excludes staff that transferred to the Ministry of Justice Headquarters in June 2010.

Legal Aid Scheme

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues about removing clinical negligence from the scope of legal aid.

Jonathan Djanogly: I have had discussions with a number of ministerial colleagues. Those discussions have covered a range of matters affecting our respective Departments, including the potential impact that our proposals to reform legal aid could have on those colleagues' Departments.

Legal Aid Scheme

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people accessed legal aid in connection with claims for clinical negligence in the last year for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: According to data held by the Legal Services Commission, the number of certificates granted for legal representation for clinical negligence cases in 2010-11 was 2,897. In the same financial year 3,977 Legal Help matters were started in the clinical negligence category.

Legal Services Commission: Closures

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of potential effects on his Department of the planned closure of the Legal Services Commission.

Jonathan Djanogly: A final Impact Assessment of the abolition of the Legal Services Commission was published alongside the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill in June 2011, which contains the enabling clauses for abolition. This lays out the best estimates as to the costs and benefits of abolishing the LSC and is available here:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/bills-acts/legal-aid-sentencing/ia-abolition-lsc.pdf

National Archives

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many documents have been identified as missing from the National Archives; and what steps are being taken to recover any such documents.

Jonathan Djanogly: As of 8 September 2011, 1,674 documents at The National Archives were identified as missing, which represents around 0.01% of their collection of over 11 million public records. Most of these records have been misfiled and are quickly located and accounted for. The National Archives has an ongoing programme dedicated to locating such documents, so this number fluctuates slightly although the level remains fairly consistent. A small number of incorrectly located documents at any one time is an inevitable consequence of being one of the most open and accessible archives in the world.
	The National Archives produces over 600,000 documents for readers annually, with a document ordered on average once every 10 seconds on busy days. Occasionally, records are found not to be in their correct location within the 185 km of shelving, generally as a result of human error. The National Archives proactively monitors all missing documents on a weekly basis and employs a robust 11 stage search process. This includes tracking the document's movements on its ordering system, searching reading rooms and inspecting documents viewed by the same user. Documents in use at the same time, those in the same series, those with similar reference numbers, and documents filed in the same area are also searched. Documents which are not located after an initial search are listed as 'missing' on The National Archives' online catalogue.

Prison and Probation Services

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 13 July 2011, Official Report, column 31WS, on prison and probation services (England and Wales), what pilot exercises in regard to rehabilitation he intends to run; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: On 13 July the Ministry of Justice published the Government's response to the Green Paper "Breaking the Cycle". In this document we set out our plans to tackle re-offending through payment by results.
	A pilot is running at HMP Peterborough and six justice reinvestment pilots are running across Greater Manchester and in five London boroughs. Further to this in 2011 we will be starting a pilot at HMP Doncaster and are in the process of developing pilots in the community (probation), in public sector prisons, jointly with the DWP Work Programme and will also be creating an opportunity for providers to come to us with innovative proposals. We are also supporting the development and implementation of payment by results approaches for drug and alcohol recovery, led by the Department of Health, which includes offenders. We expect these additional pilots to commence in 2012. Finally, the Youth Justice Board intend to run four pilots over a two year period, targeting reductions in the number of young people being sentenced or remanded to custody.
	Through piloting payment by results we will learn what works to enable us to develop our future policy.

Prison and Probation Services

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 13 July 2011, Official Report, column 31WS, on prison and probation services (England and Wales), what selection criteria were used by the National Offender Management Service to decide on (a) which prisons to market test and (b) which prisons to close; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: To determine the prisons included in the competition announcement that I made on 13 July 2011 the following publicly available data was taken into account:
	Prison category
	Prison location (region)
	The following internal metrics were also taken into account.
	Prison size as defined by operational capacity in March 2010
	Direct cost per place as defined by operational capacity in March 2010. Direct costs are taken from 2009-10 outturns, with costs associated with unique services stripped out.
	An internal assessment of the suitability for payment by results.
	An internal assessment of the suitability for working prisons.
	Latest estimates of maintenance necessary to be undertaken in the next ten years.
	Internal estimates of potential levels of inefficiency on a prison by prison basis used to estimate the potential savings which could be delivered as a result of competition.
	I have placed in Table 1 a summary of all these metrics for the nine prisons competed, except the internal estimates of potential levels of inefficiency and the level of maintenance, because this data is commercial in confidence.
	
		
			 Table 1: Recommended candidates for prison competition 
			  Name Category Op cap Region Cost per place (£) Cluster suitable for PBR Industrial prisons Rational for selection 
			 a Lindholme–including Immigration Removal Centre Cat C 1,134 Yorkshire 18,608 Yes Yes (1)(1) Lindholme infrastructure allows re- role as industrial prison, given good infrastructure. (1)(2) The cluster allows diverse prison system where providers may bid for entire package under PBR. (1)(3) New geographical area introduced. (1)(4) Potential to attract competitive labour market rates. 
			  Moorland Cat C 779 Yorkshire 20,221 Yes — (1)— 
			  Hatfield Open 260 Yorkshire 20,221 Yes — (1)— 
			  Onley Cat C 707 East Midlands 24,740 — — (1)(1) High potential for financial saving. (1)(2) Introduces competitive pressure in geographical area with Incumbent private providers. 
			          
			 b Coldingley Cat C 513 South East 27,326 Yes — (1)(1) New geographical area introduced (South East). (1)(2) Sufficient infrastructure ensures every prisoner is able to work. 
			  The Wolds Cat C 395 Yorkshire 23,651 — — (1)(1) Current contract expires January 2013. Needs to be re-competed. 
			          
			 c Acklington Cat C 946 North East 20,157 Yes — (1)(1) New geographical area introduced (North East).  (1)(2) Suitable for PBR as a cluster.  (1)(3) Presents large savings potential including clustering. 
			  Castington YOI 410 North East 35,987 Yes __ (1)— 
			  Durham Local 985 North East 23,379 Yes — (1)— 
			 (1) Indicates a brace. Notes: 1. Cost per place information is based on 2009-10 data. 2. Lindholme maintenance costs are low until final two years. 3. Castington maintenance data is forthcoming, as part of due diligence to be undertaken on whole package. 
		
	
	Decisions on the future size of the prison estate will be driven by prison population demand. Prisons will only close when capacity allows. We will always ensure that there are enough places for those offenders sentenced to custody by the courts, including a margin to manage fluctuations in the prison population. Decisions to reduce or make changes to prison capacity will only be taken if they do not put this ability at risk.
	The decision to close an establishment will be based on the following primary factors:
	an economic assessment which identifies prisons that are inefficient to operate or maintain; and
	an operational assessment to consider whether the closures of prisons can be managed while continuing to maintain the safe and decent operation of the prison estate and to meet the needs of offenders.
	The prison estate as a whole is kept under review and is subject to consideration through the assessment process described above.

Prisoners' Transfers

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in C category prison accommodation approved for transfer to D category prison accommodation have been waiting (a) more than three months, (b) more than six months and (c) more than a year to be transferred.

Crispin Blunt: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost as it would be necessary to contact every Category C prison and request them to consult individual prisoner records.

Probation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation officers were working for the probation service in England and Wales on 31 March 2011; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent number on 31 March 2012.

Crispin Blunt: The number of probation officers employed in the probation service for England and Wales on 31 March 2011 was 6,794.50 FTE.
	It is not possible to forecast probation officer staffing levels at 31 March 2012, as the responsibility for resourcing levels lies with the individual probation trusts. It is for them to take the necessary action at a local level to ensure they can deliver the required service within available resources.

Probation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) probation officers and (b) probation service officers were employed by the probation service in England and Wales on 31 December (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the number of probation officers and probation service officers employed by the probation service in England and Wales on 31 December in 2008, 2009 and 2010, by FTE:
	
		
			  Probation officer Probation services officer 
			 2008 7,205.49 5,796.67 
			 2009 6,924.98 5,735.59 
			 2010 6,976.31 5,009.48

Sentencing: EU Nationals

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many EU nationals resident in the UK were convicted of an offence resulting in a custodial sentence of more than two years in each year since 2004.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to identify from this centrally held information a defendant's nationality.

Squatting: Crime

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to make the occupation of a home by squatters a criminal offence.

Kenneth Clarke: We are consulting on options for dealing with squatting, including the possibility of criminalisation. The consultation process is due to end on 5 October 2011. The full consultation can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/dealing-with-squatters.htm
	We will decide which option to pursue after we have considered the consultation responses.

Victim Support Schemes: Witnesses

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on supporting victims of crime and witnesses who were party to proceedings at York (a) magistrates court and (b) Crown court in each year since 1997; and how many victims of crime and witnesses were offered support in each such period.

Crispin Blunt: The main provider of support for victims and witnesses of crime in England and Wales is Victim Support, an independent charity which is principally funded by the Ministry of Justice. Victim Support offers support to victims and witnesses who are party to court proceedings through its Witness Service.
	The following table shows the total annual funding allocated by central Government to Victim Support since 1996/97 and the amount of funding provided by Victim Support to its Witness Service in North Yorkshire from 2001-02 to 2010-11. Records of how Victim Support allocated its grant regionally prior to 2001-02 are not available.
	
		
			  Total Government funding to   Victim Support   (£ million) North Yorks: Funding allocated to Crown court   Witness Service North Yorks: Funding allocated to magistrates court   Witness Service 
			 199-97 11.7 n/a n/a 
			 1997-98 12.7 n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			 1998-99 12.7 n/a n/a 
			 1999-2000 17.5 n/a n/a 
			 2000-01 18.6 n/a n/a 
			 2001-02 25.1 14,406 96,841 
			 2002-03 29.3 15,457 81,055 
			 2003-04 30 15,749 82,586 
			 2004-05 30 17,865 105,496 
			 2005-06 30 25,600 97,406 
			 2006-07 30 25,600 97,406 
			 2007-08 35.8 25,600 97,406 
			 2008-09 37 28,586 74,354 
			 2009-10 38.2 32,995 (1)35,641 
			 2010-11 42.25 28,761 (1)25,472 
			 2011-12 (2)38 (3)— (3)— 
			 n/a = Not available (1) The Witness Service at York and Selby magistrates courts only. (2) Core grant only. Does not include any additional monies allocated to Victim Support for services for people bereaved by homicide or any potential funding received through the Prisoners' Earnings Act, which comes into force on 26 September 2011. (3 )Not yet known. 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of victims and witnesses supported by the Witness Service at York Crown court and York magistrates court since 2009-10, when Victim Support introduced a centralised case management system. Victim Support does not hold records of the number of victims and witnesses supported by individual courts before this date.
	
		
			  York Crown court York magistrates court 
			 2009-10 717 606 
			 2010-11 701 396 
			 2011-12 (to date) 236 133

CABINET OFFICE

Graduates: Unemployment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of unemployed graduates in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate has been made of the number of unemployed graduates in (a) Ashfield Constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England. (071750)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Whilst the APS does collect data on graduate unemployment, no reliable statistics can be produced for Ashfield constituency or Nottinghamshire due to small sample sizes.
	The latest APS estimates available are for the period January to December 2010. Based on this survey, the number of unemployed people in England whose highest qualification was degree level or higher was 269,000. .
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Voluntary Work: Young People

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the independent evaluation of the first year of National Citizen Service will be completed; and when the outcome of the commissioning process for the second year of the National Citizen Service pilots will be announced.

Nick Hurd: The findings of the independent evaluation of the 2011 National Citizen Service pilots will be published in February 2012. The outcome of the commissioning process for the second year of National Citizen Service pilots will be announced later in September.

Young People

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his most recent estimate is of the number of young people under the age of 24 years who are in (a) training, (b) employment and (c) education in (i) York Central constituency, (ii) York Unitary Authority and (iii) England.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the most recent estimate is of the number of young people under the age of 24 years who are in (a) training, (b) employment and (c) education in (i) York Central constituency, (ii) York Unitary Authority and (Hi) England (71431).
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for all geographic areas smaller than regions from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Table 1 shows the number people age 16 to 24 in employment, education (attending or waiting to attend an education course); and training (taken part in job related education or training or a recognized apprenticeship). It should be noted that an individual can be included in more than one of these categories e.g. in employment and in education.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in table 1.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people aged 16 to 24 in employment, education and training  (1)  , January to December 2010 
			 Thousand 
			  Employment Education Training 
			 York Central(2) ***9 ***16 ***n/a 
			 York(2) ***13 ***18 ****n/a 
		
	
	
		
			 England(2) *3,097 *2,847 *613 
			 n/a = not available (1) It should be noted that an individual can be included in more than one of these categories, e.g. in employment and in education. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes Source: Annual Population Survey

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

House of Lords: Reform

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent progress he has made towards reform of the House of Lords; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Harper: I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 10 June 2011, Official Report, column 488W. Further to that reply, both Houses have agreed the establishment and composition of a Joint Committee to consider the draft House of Lords Reform Bill and White Paper and to report by 29 February 2012. The Joint Committee has issued a call for written evidence. A Government Bill will then be introduced in the next Session.

HEALTH

Abortion: Counselling

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the terms of reference are of his Department's planned consultation on abortion counselling.

Anne Milton: Details of the consultation on abortion counselling, including the terms of reference, are currently being developed by the Department.

Ambulance Services: Manpower

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of ambulance staff employed at band (a) six and (b) seven in (i) 2007, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2011.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Ambulance Services: Unemployment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the average number of years of unemployment of ambulance staff employed at each band from two to seven.

Simon Burns: Information on unemployment is not collected by the Department.

CJD: Blood

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of (a) the number of people with asymptomatic variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and (b) the proportion of such people who are blood donors.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) on 16 May 2011, Official Report, column 61W.

CJD: Blood

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease disclaimer to be removed from UK blood bags and products.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Simon Kirby) on 3 March 2011, Official Report, columns 558-59W.

Dental Health: Children

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to reduce levels of childhood tooth decay; and what recent progress has been made in reducing those levels.

Simon Burns: We are committed to introducing a new dental contract based on capitation, registration and quality, with the aim of improving oral health, especially that of children. Dental contract pilots, which will test aspects of the new contract, are underway and include significant emphasis on prevention of dental disease. To reinforce the benefits of the contractual changes, we will also be piloting oral health promotion schemes which include measures to link general dental practices more closely with primary schools.
	In addition, we have included rates of dental decay among five-year-old children as an outcome measure in Healthy Lives, Healthy People: proposals for a public health outcomes framework. Surveys of child dental health show that, between 1973 and 2009, the number of 12-year-old children free of tooth decay increased from 7%, to 66%, of the population in that age group. However, significant inequalities remain which we are resolved to address.

Dental Services: North Yorkshire

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) gross expenditure including dental charges and (b) net expenditure was in respect of NHS general dental services in North Yorkshire and York in each year since 1996-97.

Simon Burns: Since 2006-07, data on primary dental care expenditure can be derived from primary care trust (PCT) financial records. This data reflects the new contract framework for primary dental care services introduced from 1 April 2006, based on the PCT areas introduced from 1 October 2006. It takes account of all relevant service costs for primary dental care services including those provided by dental providers under general dental service (GDS) or personal dental service (PDS) contracts. It is not directly comparable with the available pre-2006 data. Expenditure on primary dental care services in the North Yorkshire and York PCT since 2006-07 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Expenditure on primary dental care services in North Yorkshire and York PCT 
			 £000 
			  Gross expenditure Dental charges paid by patients Net expenditure 
			 2006-07 32,165 8,875 23,290 
			 2007-08 32,089 8,879 23,210 
			 2008-09 39,241 10,358 28,883 
			 2009-10 41,774 10,728 31,046 
			 Source:  Calculated from details of gross primary dental care expenditure, and income from dental charges, recorded in the notes to the PCT’s accounts. 
		
	
	Prior to April 2006, most primary dental care services were provided under former GDS arrangements. These were demand led services where the pattern of dental expenditure was largely determined by where dentists chose to practise and how much national health service work they chose to undertake.
	The Information Centre for health and social care holds local-level information on the expenditure for NHS primary dental care under the former GDS and PDS arrangements. Expenditure information for the financial years 1997-98 to 2005-06 is available for the following former PCTs: Selby and York; Hambleton and Richmondshire; Craven, Harrogate and Rural District; and Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedaie. This information is contained in the document “Expenditure on General Dental Services and Personal Dental Services in North Yorkshire, 1997-98 to 2005-06” which has been placed in the Library.

Government Procurement Card

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the (a) purchase date, (b) transaction amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry if held for each individual transaction undertaken by the Health Protection Agency using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Anne Milton: Transparency is an important commitment for the coalition Government and we are committed to providing good quality information, whilst also being mindful of any additional cost burdens. In this instance, the resources needed to review all of these transactions and redact personal and commercially sensitive information would be disproportionate.
	In line with Government policy, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) does already publish information on staff remuneration, organograms, and expenditure of over £25,000 at:
	www.data.gov.uk
	HPA are currently reviewing the practicality and cost-effectiveness of publishing expenditure over the lower—and currently optional—£500 threshold.

Health Services: EU Nationals

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 156W, on health services: foreign nationals, what the cost was of reclaiming NHS costs from each other EU state for treatment of its nationals in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; what average length of time it took each other EU state to process repayment of NHS costs for treatment of its nationals in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many outstanding claims the UK has against each other EU state for treatment of its nationals in the UK.

Anne Milton: Historically, payment of claims between member states was slow in this area—the previous European Union Regulations did not provide for time limits on payments. New regulations, which came into force in May 2010, introduced an 18-month time limit on payments. A total of 53 claims have been submitted in 2010-11 under the new regulations, and payments have been made to date for 23 of these claims. By country, the time from claim to payment, or average time if more than one payment, is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 European economic area medical cost UK claims— Claims made in 2010-11 under Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, time from claim to payment 
			 Country Months 
			 Austria 5.0 
			 Belgium 5.0 
			 Bulgaria 9.1 
			 Germany 4.9 
			 Iceland 5.3 
			 Latvia 3.4 
			 Liechtenstein 8.0 
			 Lithuania 4.8 
			 Luxembourg 8.3 
			 Poland 5.8 
			 Slovakia 8.3 
			 Sweden 5.5 
			 Switzerland 6.2 
			 Overall average 5.7 
		
	
	Payments have yet to be made for 30 claims. None of these claims currently exceed the time limit for payment.
	In 2010-11, departmental salary costs for staff handling UK claims and income payments totalled around £100,000. In addition, each NHS trust is likely to have an overseas visitors’ manager. A small proportion of their time will be dedicated to collecting the required data required to raise a claim.

Negligence: Legal Aid Scheme

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the NHS of the Government's proposal to remove clinical negligence from within the scope of Legal Aid.

Simon Burns: The Department believes that the potential effect on the national health service of removing clinical negligence from the scope of Legal Aid will be cost neutral.

NHS Walk-in Centres: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received treatment at York NHS walk-in centre in each year of its operation.

Simon Burns: Information is not centrally available in the format requested. Quarterly information on the number of attendances at the York NHS walk-in centre from 2003 onwards, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Quarter ending First attendances Follow-up attendances Total attendances 
			 2003-04    
			 June 6,339 4,226 10,565 
			 September 6,395 4,180 10,575 
			 December 5,424 3,770 9,194 
			 March 4,916 3,971 8,887 
			     
			 2004-05    
			 June 5,389 5,022 10,411 
			 September 5,121 4,566 9,687 
			 December 4,446 4,135 8,581 
			 March 3,854 3,661 7,515 
			     
			 2005-06    
			 June 3,921 4,537 8,458 
			 September 3,602 4,401 8,003 
			 December 7,531 - 7,531 
			 March 2,940 1,126 4,066 
			     
			 2006-07    
			 June 6,279 246 6,525 
			 September 5,384 686 6,070 
			 December 5,442 231 5,673 
			 March 5,880 190 6,070 
			     
			 2007-08    
			 June 6,353 226 6,579 
			 September 5,620 401 6,021 
			 December 5,157 256 5,413 
			 March 4,731 183 4,914 
			     
			 2008-09    
			 June 5,002 241 5,243 
			 September 5,217 277 5,494 
			 December 4,882 261 5,143 
			 March 4,680 284 4,964 
			     
			 2009-10    
		
	
	
		
			 June 5,012 268 5,280 
			 September 4,697 200 4,897 
			 December 4,399 185 4,584 
			 March 4,194 137 4,331 
			     
			 2010-11    
			 June 4,795 158 4,953 
			 September 5,048 167 5,215 
			 December 4,269 137 4,406 
			 March 4,619 151 4,770 
			     
			 2011-12    
			 June 4,999 164 5,163 
			 Notes: 1. Data up to September 2006 were reported by Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT). There are data quality concerns regarding the figures reported for this period, but all figures are being provided in line with transparency principles. Up to September 2005, follow-up attendances reported by this organisation incorrectly included planned follow-up attendances, but these cannot be separately identified in the data and hence cannot be removed. For the quarter ending December 2005, the follow-up attendances were incorrectly included in the first attendance figure. For the quarter ending March 2006 onwards, planned follow-up attendances were correctly removed from the reporting. 2. Data from October 2006 to March 2011 (inclusive) were reported by North Yorkshire and York PCT. 3. Data from April 2011 was reported by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust. Source: Department of Health—Quarterly Monitoring of Accident and Emergency

NHS: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what effect the implementation of the Health and Social Care Bill will have on NHS baseline funding. [R]

Simon Burns: Implementation of the Health and Social Care Bill will not affect the overall level of funding allocated to the national health service, as set in the 2010 spending review. The provisions of the Bill will help the NHS achieve a one-third reduction in administrative spending, saving £1.5 billion each year from 2014-15. This money will be reinvested in improving front-line services and delivering better care for patients.
	Further information is given in the revised impact assessment for the Health and Social Care Bill, which is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsLegislation/DH_123583
	A copy has already been placed in the Library.

NHS: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes in the funding allocated to the devolved Administrations he expects to result from implementation of the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill. [R]

Simon Burns: Implementation of the Health and Social Care Bill will not affect the funding allocated to the devolved Administrations in the 2010 spending review.

Organs: Donors

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organ donations made by non-UK citizens have been used in operations performed within the NHS in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Anne Milton: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			 United Kingdom solid organ transplants from deceased non-UK donors  (1)   to UK residents, 2010-11 
			  Country of donation  
			 Transplant type Republic of Ireland Overseas Total 
			 Heart 7 5 12 
			 Liver 5 2 7 
			 Lung 3 0 3 
			 Double lung 2 0 2 
			 Total 17 7 24 
			 (1) Based on the country of donation. Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

Pain

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of people with chronic pain in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire; what NHS services and treatment are available to people with chronic pain; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: An authoritative estimate of the prevalence of chronic pain in England is not currently available. The 2008 report by the former Chief Medical Officer reported an estimate that 7.8 million people in the United Kingdom suffer moderate to severe pain that has lasted for six months or more. A module has been included in the 2011 Health Survey for England which should in due course provide an estimate of the total number of people with chronic pain for England—though not for individual counties—using the more normal definition of pain lasting for three or more months.
	All general practitioners have experience of treating patients with pain, and of referring on for specialist assessment or treatment as needed. Specialist treatments include specialist pain relief, physiotherapy, surgery, osteopathy and chiropraxis, pain self-management programmes and psychological interventions. The aim of treatment is to support patients in living with and managing their pain and there is an important role for voluntary organisations in providing peer group support and patient education.

Social Services: Training

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department provided for the social work bursary in each of the last three years; what proportion of the bursary was awarded in the form of (a) grants and (b) loans in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much funding is to be provided in 2012.

Paul Burstow: The table sets out expenditure on the social work bursary. All of the funding is granted to students—the social work bursary does not contain provisions for loans. Undergraduate social work students are able to apply to the Students Loan Company for a loan in addition to a bursary.
	
		
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2009-10 70.3 
			 2010-11 76.5 
			 2011-12 forecast(1) 85 
			 (1 )The bursary is demand-led—there is no cap on the number of students or on the budget. 
		
	
	Budgets for 2012-13 are in the process of being set, as part of the Department of Health's annual budget setting process, and have not yet been confirmed.

York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what capital expenditure York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust incurred in each year since 1996-97.

Simon Burns: This is a matter for the chair of York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to Alan Rose informing him of the hon. Member's enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

York Hospitals NHS Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes there were (a) in total and (b) in each speciality at York Hospitals NHS Trust in each year since 1996-97.

Simon Burns: The number of finished consultant episodes for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust split by main speciality from 1996-97 to 2009-10 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Main speciality code Main specialty description 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 
			  Total finished consultant episodes 91,528 87,023 78,310 80,936 81,586 75,531 69,699 
			          
			 100 General Surgery 11408 10,390 9,880 10,102 9,512 8,972 8,727 
			 101 Urology 6,823 6,601 6,155 6,434 6,244 5,326 5,345 
			 110 Trauma and Orthopaedics 4,699 4,717 4,277 4,887 5,371 5,548 5,566 
		
	
	
		
			 120 Ear, Nose and Throat (END 2,244 2,145 2,039 2,111 2,181 2,075 2,041 
			 130 Ophthalmology 3,848 3,742 3,290 3,258 3,509 3,134 2,534 
			 140 Oral Surgery 2,155 1,915 1,702 1,756 1,574 1,491 1,409 
			 141 Restorative Dentistry — — — — — — — 
			 143 Orthodontics * * — — — — — 
			 150 Neurosurgery * — — — — — — 
			 160 Plastic Surgery — — — — — — — 
			 170 Cardiothoracic Surgery — — — — — — — 
			 180 Accident and Emergency (A&E) 2,495 1,865 1,568 1,546 1,693 356 * 
			 190 Anaesthetics 1,992 2,096 1,946 2,043 2,018 1,900 1,879 
			 300 General Medicine 21,681 20,693 17,656 19,276 20,389 18,003 16,536 
			 301 Gastroenterology 11 — — — — — — 
			 303 Clinical Haematology 2,075 2,148 917 1,650 1,206 991 684 
			 315 Palliative Medicine — * — — — — — 
			 330 Dermatology 135 112 29 23 * 49 62 
			 360 Genitourinary Medicine — * — — — — * 
			 370 Medical Oncology 753 529 459 221 225 166 165 
			 400 Neurology 492 348 409 453 468 508 670 
			 401 Clinical Neurophysiology — — — * — — — 
			 410 Rheumatology 1,268 887 828 753 568 233 256 
			 420 Paediatrics 7,566 7,443 7,075 7,080 4,835 4,898 4,651 
			 430 Geriatric Medicine 11,25 7 11,140 10,089 9,501 9,193 9,316 7,756 
			 501 Obstetrics 4,607 4,519 4,265 4,055 — — — 
			 502 Gynaecology 3,486 3,205 3,295 3,384 9,199 10,664 9,738 
			 560 Midwife episode 2,292 2,016 1,996 1,855 2,998 — — 
			 600 General medical practice — — — — — 1,687 — 
			 610 General practice—with maternity function — — — — — — 1,631 
			 620 General practice—other than maternity — — — — — — — 
			 700 Learning Disability (previously Mental Health) — — — — — — — 
			 710 Adult Mental Illness — — — — — — — 
			 711 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — — — — — — — 
			 715 Old Age Psychiatry — — — — — — — 
			 800 Clinical Oncology (previously Radiotherapy) — — — — — — — 
			 810 Radiology — * — * * — * 
			 822 Chemical Pathology 533 505 435 544 376 214 40 
			 824 Histopathology — — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Main speciality code Main specialty description 2002-03 2001-02 2000-01 1999-2000 1998-99 1997-98 1  996-97 
			  Total finished consultant episodes 64,015 63,032 61,827 61,758 64,367 60,536 60,404 
			          
			 100 General Surgery 8,034 7,440 7,493 7,620 7,618 6,929 7,290 
			 101 Urology 4,817 4,719 4,860 4,432 4,441 4,319 4,390 
			 110 Trauma and Orthopaedics 5,158 4,649 4,660 4,468 4,560 4,274 4,375 
			 120 Ear, Nose and Throat (END 2,050 2,301 2,193 2,166 2,134 1,833 2,211 
			 130 Ophthalmology 2,290 2,272 2,253 2,288 2,175 1,885 1,923 
			 140 Oral Surgery 1,354 1,223 1,244 1,368 1,351 1,268 1,215 
			 141 Restorative Dentistry — 339 336 333 364 397 422 
			 143 Orthodontics — — — — — — — 
			 150 Neurosurgery — — — — — — — 
			 160 Plastic Surgery * — — — — — — 
			 170 Cardiothoracic Surgery — — — — * — — 
		
	
	
		
			 180 Accident and Emergency (A&E) 29 *  134 460 731 1,361 
			 190 Anaesthetics 1,882 1,918 1,906 2,292 2,469 2,345 1,174 
			 300 General Medicine 15,561 14,076 12,888 12,002 11,592 10,961 10,604 
			 301 Gastroenterology — — — — — — — 
			 303 Clinical Haematology 667 824 938 1,391 1,310 1,043 814 
			 315 Palliative Medicine — — — — — — — 
			 330 Dermatology 75 103 127 148 170 113 132 
			 360 Genitourinary Medicine — — — — — * — 
			 370 Medical Oncology 190 269 348 126 * * — 
			 400 Neurology 520 510 429 397 404 409 441 
			 401 Clinical Neurophysiology — — — — — — — 
			 410 Rheumatology 172 184 190 265 318 351 290 
			 420 Paediatrics 4,124 4,158 3,908 4,168 3,741 3,321 3,291 
			 430 Geriatric Medicine 6,160 5,448 5,216 5,021 5,254 4,561 4,311 
			 501 Obstetrics — — — — — — — 
			 502 Gynaecology 9,310 9,463 9,312 9,306 13,257 13,471 13,572 
			 560 Midwife episode — — — — — — — 
			 600 General medical practice — — — — — — — 
			 610 General practice—with maternity function 1,581 1,359 1,648 1,737 493 125 201 
			 620 General practice—other than maternity — 370 411 437 480 522 519 
			 700 Learning Disability (previously Mental Health) — * 35 * 38 42 76 
			 710 Adult Mental Illness — 614 686 694 904 874 993 
			 711 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — 53 50 48 42 44 * 
			 715 Old Age Psychiatry — 612 616 685 663 643 677 
			 800 Clinical Oncology (previously Radiotherapy) — — — — — — * 
			 810 Radiology * — — * * — — 
			 822 Chemical Pathology 38 80 80 190 121 72 67 
			 824 Histopathology — — — * — — — 
			 Notes: 1. To protect patient confidentiality, figures between one and five have been replaced with ‘*’ (an asterisk). Where it was still possible to identify numbers from the total an additional number (the next smallest) has been replaced. 2. A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. 3. Consultant main speciality: The specialty under which the consultant responsible for the care of the patient at that time is registered. Take care when analysing HES data by specialty, or by groups of specialties (such as ‘acute’). Trusts have different ways of managing specialties and attributing codes so it is better to analyse by specific diagnoses, operations or other patient or service information. 4. HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 5. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

York Hospitals NHS Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting for (a) outpatient appointments and (b) in-patient admissions at York NHS Trust on 1 April (i) 1997, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2005, (iv) 2010 and (v) 2011.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The number of patients waiting for a first out-patient appointment at York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (FT) in 2005 and 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Month ending Number waiting at period end 
			 March 2005 7,697 
			 March 2010 1,602 
			 Notes: 1. Out-patient waiting times are measured from general practitioner referral to first out-patient appointment. 2. Figures first published June 2004 and last published March 2010. Source: Department of Health QM08, monthly monitoring return 
		
	
	The number of patients waiting for elective admission at York Hospitals NHS FT in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Month ending Number waiting at period end 
			 March 1997 6,846 
			 March 2001 6,317 
			 May 2005 5,211 
			 March 2010 2,336 
			 Note: Data on in-patient waiting lists not centrally collected after March 2010 Source: Department of Health KH07, Monthly monitoring return

York Hospitals NHS Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average length of time patients waited for (a) outpatient appointments and (b) in-patient admissions at York NHS Trust in (i) 1997, ii) 2001, (iii) 2005, (iv) 2010 and (v) 2011.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The median out-patient waiting times, in weeks, for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (FT) in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010 is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 Out-patients seen during quarter ending Median wait (weeks) 
			 March 1997 5.7 
			 March 2001 7.7 
			 March 2005 6.3 
			 Notes: 1. The figures show the median time waited for patients having a first consultant led out-patient appointment in the period stated. 2. Out-patient waiting times are measured from general practitioner (GP) referral to first out-patient appointment. 3. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. 4. Figures last published September 2007. Source: Department of Health QM08, monthly monitoring return 
		
	
	
		
			 Out-patients still waiting at month ending Median wait (weeks) 
			 March 2005 5.4 
			 March 2010 3.0 
			 Notes: 1. The figures show the median waiting times for patients still waiting for first consultant led out-patient appointment at the end of the period stated. 2. Out-patient waiting times are measured from GP referral to first out-patient appointment. 3. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. 4. Figures last published March 2010. Source: Department of Health QM08, monthly monitoring return 
		
	
	The median waiting times, in weeks, for elective admission at York Teaching Hospital NHS FT in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Month ending Median wait (weeks) 
			 March 1997 12.0 
		
	
	
		
			 March 2001 15.7 
			 March 2005 10.2 
			 March 2010 3.5 
			 Notes: 1. The figures show the median waiting times for patients still waiting for admission at the end of the period stated. 2. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. 3. Data on in-patient waiting lists not collected after March 2010. Source: Department of Health KH07, Monthly monitoring return 
		
	
	The median Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times, in weeks, for York Teaching Hospital NHS FT in 2010 and 2011 is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Admitted (adjusted) pathways completed during month: 
			 Period Median waiting time (in weeks) 
			 March 2010 8.1 
			 March 2011 7.8 
			 Notes: 1. The figures show the median time for patients completing a pathway in the period stated. 2. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. Source: RTT monitoring 
		
	
	
		
			 Non-admitted pathways completed during month: 
			 Period Median waiting time (in weeks) 
			 March 2010 3.1 
			 March 2011 3.5 
			 Notes: 1. The figures show the median time for patients completing a pathway in the period stated. 2. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. Source: RTT monitoring

York Hospitals NHS Trust: Manpower

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many staff were employed at York Hospitals NHS Trust by main staff group as at 30 September (a) 1997, (b) 2008 and (c) in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many (a) GPs, (b) hospital doctors, (c) community nurses and (d) hospital nurses were employed in NHS establishments and GP surgeries in the City of York in (i) 1997, (ii) 2010 and (iii) the latest date for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the numbers of doctors, by main staff groups, employed by York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (FT) and North Yorkshire and York primary care trust (PCT) on 30 September 1997, 2008 and 2010 and 30 May 2011 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Headcount 
			  1997 2008 2010  (1) May 2011  (2) 
			 Total specified organisations 327 1,196 1,185 596 
			      
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) (3)— 578 587 (4)— 
			      
			 Medical and dental workforce total 327 618 598 596 
			 Consultants (including Directors of public health) 107 220 260 261 
			 Registrars 44 173 162 170 
			 Other doctors in training and equivalents 101 55 67 63 
			 Hospital practitioners and clinical assistants (non-dental specialties)(5) 56 96 27 15 
			 Other medical and dental staff 19 74 83 88 
			      
			 York Teaching Hospital NHS FT 327 400 442 448 
			      
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			      
			 Medical and dental workforce total 327 400 442 448 
			 Consultants (including Directors of public health) 107 165 200 202 
			 Registrars 44 135 123 127 
			 Other doctors in training and equivalents 101 55 66 63 
			 Hospital practitioners and clinical assistants (non-dental specialties)(5) 56 7 4 4 
			 Other medical and dental staff 19 38 49 52 
			      
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT (3)— 796 744 149 
			      
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) (3)— 578 587 (4)— 
			      
			 Medical and dental workforce total (3)— 218 157 149 
			 Consultants (including Directors of public health) (3)— 55 60 59 
			 Registrars (3)— 38 39 43 
			 Other doctors in training and equivalents (3)— 0 1 0 
			 Hospital practitioners and clinical assistants (non-dental specialties)(5) (3)— 89 23 11 
		
	
	
		
			 Other medical and dental staff (3)— 36 34 36 
			 (1) Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. The new headcount methodology for 2010 data is not fully comparable with previous years' data due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the “NHS Workforce: Summary of staff in the NHS: Results from September 2010 Census” publication, which has already been placed in the Library. (2) Monthly data: As from 21 July 2010, the Information Centre for health and social care has published experimental, provisional monthly NHS workforce data. As expected with provisional, experimental statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. The monthly workforce data is not directly comparable with the annual workforce census; it only includes those staff on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) (i.e. it does not include primary care staff or bank staff), it also includes locum doctors (not counted in the annual census). There are also new methods of presenting data (headcount methodology is different and there is now a role count). This information is available from September 2009 onwards in “Monthly NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) Workforce Statistics in England—May 2011, Provisional, Experimental Statistics”, which has been placed in the Library. Monthly locum data is excluded from this table. (3) Not applicable. North Yorkshire and York PCT was not formed until 2006. (4) Not available. Monthly data is not available for GP statistics. (5) In order to avoid double counting, hospital practitioners and clinical assistants are excluded from the all doctors totals, as they are predominantly GPs that work part time in hospitals (applies to headcount data only). Source: The Information Centre for health and social care—General and Personal Medical Services Statistics, Medical and Dental Workforce Census, and Monthly Provisional Statistics. 
		
	
	Information on the numbers of non-medical staff, by main staff groups, employed by York Teaching Hospital NHS FT and North Yorkshire and York PCT on 30 September 1997, 2008 and 2010 and 30 May 2011 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Headcount 
			  1997 2008 2010  (1) May 2011  (2) 
			 Total specified organisations 4,644 8,185 8,740 8,352 
			      
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 2,434 4,036 4,276 4,078 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 1,928 2,855 2,979 2,772 
			 Community Nursing areas of work(3) 272 977 1,144 1,144 
			 Non-community areas of work(3) 1,656 1,878 1,849 1,645 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff (ST&T) 506 1,181 1,302 1,309 
			      
			 Support to clinical staff 1,424 2,361 2,534 2,400 
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff 1,263 1,975 2,142 2,023 
			 Support to ST&T staff 161 386 397 383 
			      
			 NHS infrastructure support 779 1,776 1,949 1,874 
			 Central functions 217 826 1,050 974 
		
	
	
		
			 Hotel, property and estates 462 740 729 734 
			 Managers and senior managers 100 210 171 169 
			      
			 Other staff or those with unknown classification 7 12 12 38 
			      
			 York Teaching Hospital NHS FT 4,644 4,020 4,719 4,309 
			      
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 2,434 1,843 1,991 1,977 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 1,928 1,290 1,359 1,308 
			 Community Nursing areas of work(3) 272 43 47 60 
			 Non-community areas of work(3) 1,656 1,247 1,313 1,279 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff (ST&T) 506 553 632 669 
			      
			 Support to clinical staff 1,424 1,144 1,311 1,303 
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff 1,263 864 990 1,005 
			 Support to ST&T staff 161 280 324 301 
			      
			 NHS infrastructure support 779 1,033 987 1,019 
			 Central functions 217 365 378 388 
			 Hotel, property and estates 462 594 539 549 
			 Managers and senior managers 100 74 70 83 
			      
			 Other staff or those with unknown classification 7 0 0 20 
			      
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT  4,165 4,476 4,063 
			      
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff (4)— 2,193 2,291 2,110 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (4)— 1,565 1,624 1,470 
			 Community Nursing areas of work(3) (4)— 934 1,097 1,085 
			 Non-community areas of work(3) (4)— 631 537 411 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff (ST&T) (4)— 628 672 643 
			      
			 Support to clinical staff (4)— 1,217 1,225 1,099 
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff (4)— 1,111 1,153 1,019 
			 Support to ST&T staff (4)— 106 74 82 
			      
			 NHS infrastructure support (4)— 743 966 858 
			 Central functions (4)— 461 672 586 
			 Hotel, property and estates (4)— 146 194 188 
			 Managers and senior managers (4)— 136 101 86 
			      
		
	
	
		
			 Other staff or those with unknown classification (4)— 12 12 18 
			 (1) Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. The new headcount methodology for 2010 data is not fully comparable with previous years data due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the “NHS Workforce: Summary of staff in the NHS: Results from September 2010 Census” publication, has been placed in the Library. (2) Monthly data: As from 21 July 2010, the Information Centre for health and social care has published experimental, provisional monthly NHS workforce data. As expected with provisional, experimental statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. The monthly workforce data is not directly comparable with the annual workforce census; it only includes those staff on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) (i.e. it does not include Primary care staff or Bank staff), it also includes locum doctors (not counted in the annual census). There are also new methods of presenting data (headcount methodology is different and there is now a role count). This information is available from September 2009 onwards in “Monthly NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) Workforce Statistics in England—May 2011, Provisional, Experimental Statistics”, which has been placed in the Library. (3) It is impossible to accurately split nursing staff census data between those who work in the community and those who are hospital based. These figures are based on those areas of work who are broadly assumed to be employed in community or hospital settings. Community nursing staff is an aggregate of the community services, community psychiatry, community learning disabilities and school nursing areas of work. Non-community areas of work is an aggregate of the acute, elderly and general care, education services, maternity services, other learning disabilities, other psychiatry and paediatric nursing areas of work. (4) Not applicable. North Yorkshire and York PCT was not formed until 2006. Source: The Information Centre for health and social care—Monthly Provisional Statistics and Non-Medical Workforce Census.

York Hospitals: Manpower

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent (a) medical consultants, (b) other doctors, (c) nurses and midwives and (d) other health professionals were employed at York Hospital in 1997, excluding posts subsequently transferred to York Primary Care Trust; and how many were employed in each such category at the most recent date for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many full time equivalent (a) medical consultants, (b) other medical staff, (c) nurses, (d) other professional staff, (e) administrative and clerical staff and (f) auxiliary staff were employed by York NHS Trust, excluding those transferred to Selby and York Primary Care Trust, in each year since 1996-97.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not centrally held by the Department. The hon. Member may wish to approach the chief executive of the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust direct, which may hold some relevant information.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Caribbean: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist those in (a) developing countries and (b) British Overseas Territories who have been affected by Hurricane Irene.

Alan Duncan: My Department monitored the impact of Hurricane Irene on both the Overseas Territories (OTs) and the independent Caribbean. We activated our contingency plans for the region and the Overseas Territories. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Wave Ruler was deployed to the Turks and Caicos Islands to provide post-impact reconnaissance and transport of emergency supplies. A DFID disaster adviser was pre-positioned to Jamaica. We were also in contact with the regional emergency response organisation and international emergency response agencies.
	We received no requests for assistance from any of the countries or territories affected by Hurricane Irene.

Horn of Africa: Overseas Aid

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with his foreign counterparts on the provision of aid to the Horn of Africa.

Andrew Mitchell: Over the summer months I have spoken with a large number of my foreign counterparts to galvanize support on the provision of aid to the Horn of Africa, including:
	Germany's Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dirk Niebel; Ben Knapen the Development Minister of the Netherlands; Henri de Raincourt France's Development Minister, Franco Frattini Italy's Foreign Minister and latterly Dr. Raj Shah of the United States Agency for International Development.
	At the Tidewater conference in July I also addressed Development Ministers and officials—Denmark's State Secretary for development policy Ib Petersen, European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, Deputy Director General and Minister of Foreign affairs for France George Serre, Minister of the Environment and International Development of Norway Erik Solheim, Japanese President Sadako Ogata, President of Institute for Liberty and Democracy Hernando de Soto, Deputy Administrator of USAID Donald Steinberg, Secretary-General of UNCTAD Panitchpakdi Supachai, Chair of Development Assistance Committee France Brian Atwood, Director-General of Ausaid Australia Peter Baxter, President of CIDA Canada Margaret Briggs, Director General of International Cooperation the Netherlands Yoka Brandt, Vice Minister for Development Policy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Korea, Tae-Yul Cho, Director General Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Switzerland Martin Dahinden, Associate Administrator UNDP Rebecca Grynspan, Secretary-General OECD Angel Gurria, State Secretary for International Development Cooperation Sweden Anna Helquist, Political Director Ministry of Foreign Affairs Norway Hege Hertzberg, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Eco-Cooperation Development Germany Gudrun Kopp, Executive Director UNICEF Anthony Lake, Managing Director of Public Policy Bill Gates Foundation Geoff Lamb and Managing Director of World Bank Mahmoud Mohieldin, Kenyan Prime Minister Razla Odinga and Foreign Minister George Saitotz, Somali Government, senior officials from the United Nations (UN) including Baroness Amos of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Josette Sheeran of the World Food Programme, Antonio Guterres the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Tony Lake of the UN Children's Fund.
	The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs also had discussions with their counterparts from a range of countries on the Horn.

Horn of Africa: Overseas Aid

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the G20 in November 2011 and international action in respect of the Horn of Africa.

Andrew Mitchell: In preparation for the G20 Finance and Development Ministers meeting on 23 September, we will be supporting a number of proposals put forward under the French presidency of the G20 which aim to manage and mitigate the effect on the poor of high and volatile food prices. International action on the crisis affecting the Horn of Africa is not the focus of the discussion at the G20 and I have not had any detailed discussion with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne).

Human Rights

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports he has received on the human rights situation of the Transitional Federal government of Somalia; what steps he is taking to encourage an improvement in that situation; and what financial support his Department is providing to that government.

Andrew Mitchell: Reports include those by the United Nations Human Rights Council independent expert (September 2010) and Human Rights Watch (August 2011). Both provide evidence that people in areas controlled by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) have been subjected to violations of their human rights. During my recent visit to Mogadishu, I urged the TFG to protect civilians and meet the needs of internally displaced persons.
	The UK does not provide direct support to the TFG. Through the United Nations, we work to strengthen security and justice, including providing the only source of legal aid in Mogadishu. Future support to the TFG would be conditional on financial transparency and clear accountability agreements to ensure they comply with international human rights and humanitarian law.

Internally Displaced People

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on the establishment of internally displaced peoples' camps inside Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: UK Government policy is to get humanitarian assistance to people as close to their homes as possible so that they do not feel the need to leave their homes. Some Somalis choose to migrate internally, for example to seek support from family members in Mogadishu. I support United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugee's (UNHCR) work with the Somali authorities to get assistance to voluntary camps across Somalia.
	Vulnerable Somalis also have a right to flee across international borders to seek asylum but I agree with the UNHCR position that establishing new internally displaced people's camps, especially near border areas, is not the answer to prevent international refugee flows. They are likely to be sited in insecure areas, with difficult access for agencies, and health and security risks for the population which may be even greater than where they have fled from.

Refugees

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received on the Liboi reception centre for refugees arriving in Kenya from Somalia; what assistance his Department has provided to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for that facility; and what barriers he has identified to the opening of the centre.

Andrew Mitchell: I raised the issue with the Kenyan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister during my visit to Kenya in July this year. In addition, Department for International Development (DFID) receives regular written and verbal reports and officials are in close contact with the Government of Kenya (GoK) on the Liboi reception centre. The GoK and UNHCR have reached an agreement on opening the Liboi reception centre. Once building has started, UNHCR estimates that there will be sufficient infrastructure in place to receive refugees within two weeks, but that full completion will take an additional two months.
	These plans are however, subject to final authorisation from the GoK, which has valid security concerns over the management of its border with Somalia, and to the capacity of GoK, UNHCR and other organisations involved to set up and staff a new facility quickly. DFID provides some unearmarked funding to UNHCR 's Kenya operation for them to allocate according to emerging priority gaps, including Liboi.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the conflict in Somalia.

Andrew Mitchell: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), and I discussed the conflict in Somalia in July 2011 at the National Security Council. Our discussions included the ongoing peacekeeping efforts led by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and how the UK can contribute to the various Somali and international efforts to restore peace and stability in Somalia.

UN Central Emergency Response Fund

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with other governments on the five-year evaluation of the Central Emergency Response Fund.

Andrew Mitchell: DFID officials have participated in the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) evaluation as members of the Evaluation's Steering and Advisory Groups. Within these groups DFID officials have worked closely with other donor member groups from Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Netherlands and Canada to ensure a robust evaluation of the mechanism.
	A report based on the findings from the evaluation will be presented to member states in December 2011.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings he has had with hon. Members of each political party since May 2010.

Owen Paterson: Since May 2010 I have met regularly with hon. Members from a range of political parties.